Red Death's Love Ordinary World
by littlematchgirl
Summary: Vincent wakes up from his coffin, ten years after meteor. He decides it's time to leave. After he revisits his old team mates, he finds Areis and the two have to get along in a world that's moved on without them On Hiatus
1. Prologue

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aries fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aries fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope...   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

Prologue:

"Aeris... Aeris..."  
  
Aries could hear a familiar voice calling out to her. She opened her eyes. There was a woman who looked somewhat in her thirty's staring down at her from above. Aries moaned and sat up slowly. "Wh- Where am I?" The woman smiled at her. Aeris noticed that there were tears brimming at the corner of the women's eyes.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The woman grabbed both of Aeris hands. "Honey, I'm your mother.. Ifalna..."  
  
Aeris's eyes filled with joy and tears. She had been waiting for this day so long. She threw herself into her mother's arms and wept openly. "Oh Mother!! I've missed you so much!!"  
  
Ifalna held her daughter's face lovingly in her hands. "Oh, my baby... My Aeris.. you've come home... You've found the promise land... "  
  
Aeris couldn't imagine anything better than this. All her life she had struggled and worked her way to the promise land... and now here she was... And.. it felt exhilarating but there was something missing. She could tell. Aeris pulled away from her mother for a moment. "Mom, something's not right..." Iflana looked on while her daughter spoke. "Something's missing... I can feel it mother.. what is it?"  
  
Iflana smiled as if she knew what Aeris was about to say. "Honey.. I can't let anything get pass you... even as a child.. you knew... you always knew..."  
  
Aeris shook her head in bewilderment. "Mom.. I don't know.. what is it?"  
  
Iflana sighed heavily and for a moment she looked sad. But then she smiled. "Aeris ... you know.. you don't belong here....you belong with your friends... "  
  
Aries started to protest but Iflana shushed her. "Aeris please... this .. this is so hard for me... you are my only.. my only child..." Iflana sobbed. "But I want you to be happy... and... so... I spoke with the rest of the cetra... they're willing to let you go ...it wasn't fair what happened to you...When you go back.. you can't let any of your friends see you.. not yet anyways... Things are going to be different.. you'll see what I mean... You need to find only one man... his name is Vincent...Vincent Valentine, He'll know what to do"  
  
Aeris shook her head. "I know Vincent, but mother... I want to stay... I want to be with you..."  
  
Iflana squeezed her daughter. "All in good time... my love... but.. now.. you have to go... You still have unfinished business..."  
  
Aeris sniffled she wiped away her tears and nodded. "Yes mother.. I know...But mother, what do I have to do?"  
  
Iflana held onto her daughter for a second longer before letting her go. "I can't tell you that sweet heart... but I believe in you and that when the time comes.. you'll know what to do.. Just remember me.. and that I'll always be with you I love you so..."  
  
Before Aeris could tell her mother the same, she felt her mother push her back. Aeris opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. She felt cold and lifeless. She couldn't move. Then all of the sudden, she was in shock. Aeris got a mouthful of water and she was kicking wildly trying to swim for her life. Her clothes were weighing her down. Aeris gasped for air and cried out in pain. Every time she gasped for air, she'd get water instead. She felt something hit her face she was stunned for the moment. Her lungs felt about ready to burst.  
  
This can't be happening.. she thought to herself. What was I thinking? I can't die! Not here... I have so much I have to do... I can't go yet...  
  
Just when she was ready to give up, Aeris felt two strong hands grabbing a hold of her shirt, and pulling her out of the water, and onto dry land. Before she could thank the person, she had passed out from exhaustion. 

-End-


	2. Second Chapter

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aries fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aries fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope...  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
(Lyrics from the Crow)  
  
It can't rain all the time,

The sky won't fall forever

And though the night seems long

Your tears won't fall forever

/  
  
Vincent stepped through the giant waterfall. "Lucrecia?" He called out to her.  
  
Silence. She was no longer there. It's been a week since the meteor incident and Vincent had trekked all the way back to the cave to see if his lost love was still here. He had promised Lucrecia that he would take care of Sephiroth, which was what she wanted, no needed to hear before she passed on the nether world.  
  
Vincent sighed and took a long look around the white cavern. This was where Lucrecia had hidden to get away from Hojo. He had turned her into something different, and ethereal. He had killed her. The woman Vincent loved, the mother, of the bane of existence Sephiroth, Lucrecia. Although he hated Hojo, Vincent was also to blame for what had transgressed between Hojo and Lucrecia. He could've done something to prevent Hojo from hurting her. But no... He had to follow orders. He had to play the role of the Turk, instead of a lover. Dark stands of hair fell over his eyes. For the second time in his life Vincent cried. He crumpled into a pitiful heap on the floor, and let it all out.  
  
Vincent was devastated when he left Lucrieca's Cave. He had wanted to see Lucrecia again one last time before she joined the life-stream. But now, it was too late. He disappeared and went back to the Shinra mansion to brood. He went back to the coffin... Lucrecia was gone, and the threat of meteor destroyed... what else was there? He laid there in his coffin, undisturbed. Years passed and Vincent had nothing but the pain of his memories to comfort him.  
  
He thought about ending his life many times. He could do it and be done with it... No one would miss him. Then he could be with his beloved.  
  
Although he was depressed, he had found some solace in knowing that Lucrecia was happier now, and that one day she would return to the earth... and maybe then they could be together. It was hard to let go of Lucrecia, and he didn't want to... but he knew that he had to move on somehow...  
  
After a while, he decided that it was time to go. He left his coffin, and returned to the realm of the living. It had been a long time since he'd went outside. 10 years to be exact. He wondered about his old friends and how they were faring, maybe it was due to nostalgia, but Vincent wanted to see them again.  
  
He was a light packer. He only packed the things he needed, which wasn't much. He wasn't expecting to return for a long time. When he exited the Shinra building, he didn't bother to turn around. He just kept moving forward.  
  
There were people standing in the middle of the street gawking at him as he passed by. Vincent simply ignored them. He knew that he must have seemed a frightful sight to behold. Hojo had created him that way. As Vincent neared the exit gates of Nibelheim, he heard footsteps trailing behind him. It was almost as if someone was trying to catch up to him. Vincent turned around to see who it was. When he did so, he felt something small bump into him.  
  
Vincent looked down just in time to see a little girl fall back onto her bottom. He noticed a group of young boys, about five of them whispering to each other behind some bushes, from the corner of his eye. The little girl was wearing a yellow summer dress and looked to be about 6 years of age. Her dress was dirty, probably from rough housing with her friends. She had short brown hair and big brown eyes that stared at him with wonderment. To Vincent's surprise, she grinned at him. She was missing her front tooth.  
  
She got up from the dirty street and held out her hand. "I think you dwop dis out from your black bag... mister..." She said cutely.  
  
She opened her tiny hands and revealed a piece of materia. It was a cure materia, and he had plenty of those. Did he drop it? Vincent shook his head. "It's yours..."  
  
The girl's eyes twinkled with delight. "Are you sure? Are you really for real?"  
  
Vincent nodded and didn't say anything.  
  
"Gee thanks mister..." She turned to leave, and paused. "Um... why are your eyes red?"  
  
He somehow knew that she was going to ask him that question, before she said it. Everyone he'd come across did. They always wanted to know why he looked the way he looked. And they always asked his about eyes.  
  
Vincent knelt down and hunched over a bit so he could see her eye to eye. "It's because I'm a monster.." He told her.  
  
He didn't really care if he frightened her, he just wanted to continue on his journey.  
  
The little girl stared at him for a moment thoughtfully and said, "I don't think you're a monster... I like your eyes.. I dink they're pwetty..." After she said that, she bounced away happily and towards the group of boys.  
  
The boys began poking and teasing her playfully. Vincent was too far away to hear their conversation, but he could tell what was going on by their body language. It was amazing what a few gestures could reveal.  
  
The boys were pointing at her hand. The little girl shook her head no at first.. and she hesitated to open her palm to show them her gift. She reluctantly frowned and gave in to their demands when they pointed towards a nearby home, which Vincent guessed, was her house by the way she scrunched up her face when she looked over at it.  
  
A murmur of oohs and ahs could be heard. The little girl glanced back at Vincent and waved. He got up and turned away. He walked through the gate and he knew that it would be awhile before he returned if ever. He didn't care either way, but the little girls actions had stirred something within his heart... a feeling he thought had passed away... a long time ago...Vincent pushed the thought away and headed in the direction of Rocket Town.

-End-


	3. Third times a charm

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope...  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/Lyrics by Billie Joel/

These are the times

to remember

cuz they will not

last forever

/  
  
When he got there, he went to Cid Highwind's home, only to find that he didn't live there any more. An old couple now occupied the place they told him where to find Cid. Cid now lives across town with Shera. They had been living together for quite some time...  
  
Although Cid could be verbal to Shera at times, Vincent knew that the couple was meant to be together. It was obvious to anyone, that they were in love. Vincent wondered if they ever got married. He followed the old people's direction, and found the house in no time.  
  
It was a nice two story home. The outside of the house was painted white. There was a little wooden fence surrounding it. Vincent notice a small garden in the front when he walked towards the house. The window frames were painted pink so were the shutters. There were flower troths at each window. They were completely covered in flowers. Cid lives here with Shera? He couldn't imagine foul-mouth Cid living in such a delicate place like this. It was too feminine. There was a huge warehouse behind the home. Vincent stared at it for a minute. That's probably where he keeps the Highwind.  
  
Vincent returned his gaze towards the house, and eyed the place cautiously, not expecting any kind of welcoming party, he headed up the white stairs and knocked on the door. Vincent heard the pounding of several feet rushing towards the door. Vincent saw the door knob twist and the door was flung open.  
  
Cid was standing before Vincent with a cigar in his mouth, there were three children hanging from him. One on his arm, another hung on his left leg, and there was another one dangling from his neck.  
  
They were all giggling. "Daddy, we got you!!"  
  
Vincent's crimson eyes blinked wide open.  
  
Cid took one look at Vincent and for the second time in his life, dropped the cigar from his mouth. "What the Fkin #&&!& how did you get here?!? How the F$%& are you doing man?"  
  
All three children gasped. "Uh oh.. Daddy.. you said a bad word..."  
  
"No, he said a lot of bad words...."  
  
"I wanna tell mommy when she comes back..."  
  
Cid shook the children off. "Alright, ya mangy miscreants.. get on down.."  
  
He leaned over and picked the cigar off the floor. He quickly pat the children's behind as they ran from him. "Get on outta here... BRATS!" He called out after them.  
  
Cid chuckled in spite of himself. Vincent looked and felt out of place. Cid turned his full attention towards the mysterious man. Cid was wearing a white undershirt, and blue sweatpants.  
  
Vincent noticed a little gut protruding from Cid's abdomen. Apparently, Shera can cook well. Cid was standing in the doorway with bare feet and he didn't have his goggles on. He still had a scruffy look about him and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.  
  
He scratched his stubbly chin. "So.. you're not gonna drink my blood or anything if I invite ya in or anything are ya Nosferatu?"  
  
Vincent gave him a dull look and frowned. Cid punched Vincent in the shoulder playfully. "Come one Vinnie, why the long face... come on in why don't ya?" He nodded his head towards the house.  
  
Vincent bowed his head forward slightly. "Thankyou.. Cid.." and entered the home.  
  
Cid closed the door behind them. "So, I see you saw my kids..."  
  
Vincent nodded and made room for Cid to pass by. Cid walked him through the house. After that, the two men sat down in his living room while Cid rambled on about his life after he left Avalanche.  
  
After the threat of meteor had been eliminated, Cid came back to Rocket town. He asked Shera to marry him and she accepted happily. It was two years later into their marriage, that he wanted to restart the space program. Reeve had become Midgar's new president and he was making a lot of changes to rebuild the floating city. Reeve agreed to reopen the space program.  
  
With Reeve's help, Cid nearly succeeded in re-institutionalizing the program, but then Shera got sick. Cid took her to the hospital. As it turned out, Shera wasn't sick at all, she was pregnant.  
  
Cid was upset at first. He had wanted to go back to space before having children, but there was nothing he could do. When it was time to go up in space, Shera was due for labor, Cid left to be by Shera's side.  
  
The pregnancy was a difficult one, and Shera almost didn't make it, but as lady luck would have it, the child came through, with no problems. Both baby and Shera were fine. After that, Cid gave up on his dreams of going out to space. Instead, he decided to become a full-time trainer in the astronaut program that Reeve and Cait sith helped sponsored. It was Cid's job to train the "noobs" and get them qualified to work in the space station when they're out in orbit. Cid made a great instructor. He always made sure that the boys new what they were doing before they did anything stupid and blow something up.  
  
Over the course of time, Cid and Shera decided to have more kids. They could afford it, and it turned out that Cid was a pretty responsible father. (minus the cussing and all that) Cid's three children were upstairs making all kinds of noise.  
  
Cid screamed up at the ceiling. "Hey, you kids, pipe it down why don't ya? If yer gonna cause some racket, ya might as well go outside!"  
  
He looked back at Vincent, took out his cigar and said, "Kids... man.. take my advice Vinnie, don't ever have kids, they drive ya nuts.."  
  
Cid had one boy and two girls. The boy Cid jr, who was named after Cid, was the oldest, he was wearing his father's famous goggles. The boy was eight years old, next was Mya who was six, and then Katie who was four. All three of them drove their father insane. But Vincent could tell that Cid wouldn't trade them for the world and he would die for them.  
  
Vincent didn't stay in Rocket Town for long. He stayed for one night and left in the morning. Before he left, Vincent asked Cid about the rest of the members from AVALANCE. Cid told him that he really didn't keep in contact with anyone except for Reeve. Cid ran into Cait every once in a while, but he was too busy with his job to keep in contact with the rest of AVALANCE. Cid told Vincent that Shera kept in contact with Tifa, but that was about it. As a matter of fact, Shera was visiting Tifa in Kalm this instance. Vincent thanked Cid and bade him fare well.  
  
Before he left, Cid stopped him. He told Vincent that Barret and Marlene lived in North Corel and that Cloud had given Marlene his gold chocobo on her 13th birthday. "I'm sure if ya asked her, she'd let you borrow the damn bird... I mean it ain't like she's using it or nothing..." Cid's children gasped again, and giggled when he cussed. "I figure you got a little bit a traveling to do.. and you'd get around quicker with that thing...."  
  
Vincent was astonished by Cid's genuine actions. Vincent could recall a time when he and Cid couldn't stand each other's presence. But now ... he's changed. I guess marrying Shera really helped Cid out. Vincent mused for a brief second. He thanked Cid for the information. Cid and his children waved to him as he left. Vincent started for North Corel.

-End-


	4. Love is in the air

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope... oh Marlene is 18 years old in here so =P. This is how she feels about Vincent.

Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

(1980 Me by Darren Hayes)

Cyndi lauper   
Jackson   
Simon le bon  
I put Eurythmics on  
Popping and locking in the u.s.a   
Day Glo sweater tied around my neck  
Studded denim  
Big hair  
Acid wash  
Rubik's cube  
My boom box

You know it's alright   
I promise you tonight   
All you gotta do is choose life

Got a little crush  
I just can't get enough of that stuff  
It's such a rush

Frosted lipstick   
Parachute pants   
Doc martins   
Dead can dance   
Culture club   
The go gofs   
Pretty in pink   
Pacman  
Asteroids   
Miami vice  
Too early for vanilla ice   
Crimping   
The poodle perm   
And blond highlights

  
You know its alright   
I promise you tonight  
All you gotta say is  
Have a nice day

Got a little crush   
I just can't get enough of that stuff   
It's such a rush   
1980 Me

  
I wish that I could be eleven again   
That E.T was my friend  
You know that life was so simple then   
Times have changes  
Never be the same   
The memory remains   
And the melody inside my heart  
You know its alright   
No matter how it goes  
All you gotta do is just say no   
/  
  
When he got there, the sky was turning red which meant the sun was getting ready to set. It had taken Vincent a good half a day to get there and he was a little tired from traveling. North Corel's appearance had greatly changed since the last time he was here.  
  
The town was livelier than ever and there were actual buildings here. The rail road had been rebuilt and reopened. There were stores everywhere and people were bustling around in a hurry to finish their shopping and get back to their homes.  
  
A lot had progressed over ten years. Vincent asked around town about Barret and Marlene and where they lived. At first people were intimidated by his appearance, but after a minute or two they knew that he mean them no harm. When Vincent was done questioning the towns folk, he had gathered enough information to look for Barret.  
  
Apparently Barret had been elected Mayor of North Corel after the meteor incident. It was Barrets influence that changed the town. He now lived in a manor not far from where Vincent was standing. Vincent made his way over the house.  
  
It was a white house near the edge of town. It was big. Not as big as the shinra mansion, no... but it was still comfortably sized so that it didn't really tower over you formidably. There was a chocobo stable on the pasture behind the house. There was a heavy lock deadbolted to the door of the stable. That's where the gold chocobo is. Barret probably locked it up like that to keep strangers from stealing the rare bird.  
  
Vincent headed for the house. When he knocked on the door a pretty girl answered. He didn't recognize her at first glance, but then he knew by her smile and the familiar brightness in her eyes, it was Marlene.  
  
She was quite mature now. She looked to be about 17 or 18 years of age. By the looks on her face, she remembered who he was. She called out his name and hugged him, which surprised Vincent a great deal, since they only met a couple of times in their lives. He certainly didn't think she would remember him. She invited him in and took him to her father.  
  
Barret Wallace was in his study room fixing his new book shelves when he got the surprise of his life. Vincent Valentine. It had been a long time since he saw the ex-TURK. Vincent's crimson eyes peered out from his pale face. He dropped the piece of hardwood oak from his hands.  
  
Barret was a hard man, and he didn't want to admit that he'd been a bit creeped out by Vincent when they first met. But during their trials, Vincent had proved to be an invincible ally. He even helped to save North Corel during the train crash when Cloud was on hiatus. He saw that Vincent still looked the same, as he did all those years ago, which was very eerie.  
  
Vincent closed his eyes and bowed his head. "It's been a long time Barret Wallace, we are overdue for conversation."  
  
Barret nodded in agreement. "Yeah I know dat..."  
  
He reached back behind his head and scratched. It was a thing he did when he was nervous, and didn't want to show it. Barret left his unfinished project and led Vincent out of the room, and into the living room. Marlene followed behind them close.  
  
The living room was nice and cozy. It was dimly lighted, but there were long satin curtains that draped heavily over the windows. There was a brown easy chair in the room and opposite of it was a long green couch. A small coffee table was planted in front of the couch. There was a big tv at the end of the room as well as small paintings hanging off the walls. A black lacquered piano sat at the opposite end of the Tv.  
  
Barret went over to his favorite easy chair and sat down while Vincent sat the opposite of him on the couch. He placed his black backpack on the floor next to his feet. Marlene plopped down next to Vincent. Her eyes never left Vincent's face.  
  
Vincent quietly observed the new and improved Barret. He had cornrows in his hair and he was dressed in black slacks and a suit and tie. He completely transformed his image from when they last met. Not to mention, a he looked little older as well. There were little streams of grey in his hair. Vincent noted the tiny little wrinkles around the corner of his eyes, and the worry lines creased his forehead, probably from the stress of being mayor.  
  
Barret was a tad uncomfortable with the fact that his daughter was sitting next to Vincent, let alone any man. He especially didn't like the way she jumped when he asked for a drink.  
  
"We have tea that tastes great, and it's really relaxing... I mean.. if you want some.."  
  
"Yes... I would like that please... thankyou..." Vincent said his eyes blinking.  
  
Barret smacked his lips and looked away sulking. After Marlene left the room, Barret scolded Vincent... "Man... whatchu doin comin back here an disruptin our lives like dat? Man.. dat's my baby girl dere!"  
  
Vincent was taken back by the accusation in Barret's voice. He had noticed Marlene's advances... but he never thought about reciprocating them.  
  
"Barret.. I have no interests in your daughter, my interests lie within you and the rest of AVANLANCHE."  
  
Barret knew that Vincent spoke the truth when he said those words... but he still didn't like the fact that Marlene was fumbling over this ... man...  
  
"Well, I know dat... I'm sorry for sayin what I said.... I know it's not yo fault... it's just dat.... She's 18 and...Well... you know..."  
  
Barret didn't have to spell it out for Vincent, he already knew what the big man was implying.  
  
"Barret you know you can't be so overprotective of Marlene, she's bound to fall in love sooner or later... and when the time comes... you'll have to let her go..."  
  
Barret scrunched his face and punched his left fist into his right hand. "I know.. man.. I'm jes wonderin who I'ma kill when da time comes..."  
  
Vincent looked down at his hands and waited for Marlene to return with his drink. Marlene returned with the tea, a few seconds later, her face beaming.  
  
"ah.. I didn't know if you wanted yours with sugar, honey or anything.. so I just poured two spoonfuls of honey into your tea... It tastes better that way.. Oh! And I put milk in there as well... "  
  
Vincent felt strange.. it had been a while since anyone was attracted to him and paid him that kind of attention.  
  
He accepted the tea with good grace and a curt "Thankyou".  
  
Barret drummed his large fingers on the sides of the easy chair. He was fuming while Marlene took her seat next to Vincent.  
  
Barret paused and eyed the dark man curiously. "Hey, Vincent ... what are you doing here of all places? I mean... you leave us all widdout so much as a word, den like a ghost.. you come back... an put da spooks back in our lives.... What's up wit dat?" Vincent took a sip of his tea before answering. It was really sweet, how much honey did Marlene say she used?  
  
Marlene smiled, "how is it?"  
  
"It's fine..." Vincent lied.  
  
He sat there for a moment and pondered about a response to Barret's question. He really didn't know why he was back, or why he was visiting his friends, maybe it's because you're lonely? A little voice in his head told him. Vincent brushed it aside. Finally he answered while Barret looked on patiently.  
  
"I guess, I don't really know myself why I'm here Barret, I just felt like I had to come by and see you...." He said quietly.  
  
Barret didn't know what Vincent was up to, but he knew Vincent well enough to understand ... that noone could comprehend Vincent and if they did... that meant that they were messed up themselves. Man that asshole Hojo, done fucked him up over dere... Barret thought as his eyes rested upon Vincent's claw.  
  
Vincent asked Barret about his current position and that of AVALANCHE. Barret told him about becoming mayor, and how hard he's worked to change everything around. He talked about Marlene and how she was attending college in Midgar University. Reeve was going to help her in and he even had a place set up for her to stay. Barret had been against the whole idea from the start, he didn't want Marlene venturing off to the city.  
  
He preferred it if she stayed in North Corel instead and helped him in his governing position. Marlene had helped influenced the town as much as Barret. In a way she had helped inspire Barret to become a good Mayor. But much to his dismay, he knew that he couldn't hold Marlene here for long. There was a certain hunger in her eyes for adventure. Barret was certainly going to miss his baby girl when she goes away. He might even cry.  
  
Vincent was quite curious about Cloud when Cid mentioned him earlier. Vincent forgot to ask Cid about him. He was also curious about Red 13 as well. Both Cloud and Red were the only two friends that understood Vincent. They were all test subject at one point. Hojo went so far as to inject Cloud with Jenova cells. Not only that, but Cloud also got mako poisoning when he got too close to the life stream. He was incapacitated for a while and Cid took up the role as leader. Vincent remembered it all like it was yesterday.  
  
Vincent asked if Barret kept in contact with Cloud or Red. Barret nodded. Red 13 was living in Cosmo Canyon watching over his grandfather, Bugenhagen. Barret and Marlene visited him every once in a blue moon. Cloud? Cloud traveled around a lot. He'd come and visit them just to see how things were. Tifa would come and visit them too, but she was always looking for Cloud. After Aeris died, Cloud was never the same. He really loved her.  
  
After meteor, Cloud was always moving around a lot. No one knew where to find him. Cloud was trying to find a way of reviving Aeris, but he couldn't find anything. He lived with Red 13 at Cosmo Canyon for two years and tried to research more about the life-stream and the promise land. But to no avail. Sadly, Aeris was gone, and there was no way to bring her back.  
  
After that, Cloud returned to Midgar, where he ran into Tifa. The two decided to move in together five years ago. Barret didn't know if they still were together. He hadn't spoken to either Cloud or Tifa, because he had been so busy trying to change North Corel. Last he heard, they were running an inn together in Kalm, but then that was 5 years ago.  
  
Barret asked Vincent about his life after meteor. Vincent didn't tell him much, only that he went back to his coffin and rested.  
  
That was a little too much for Barret, so he changed the subject. "So you got a misses?"  
  
Marlene's ears pricked up.  
  
Vincent shook his head no. "You?"  
  
Barret shook his head no as well. "Nope, dere'll be no one fo me... I'm too busy wit dese blueprints fo da town... I ain't got time fo marriage o nutin...".  
  
Marlene wanted her father to get remarried, but she knew that it was probably for the best that he didn't for now. Besides, the town really needed his full attention, and it wouldn't get that if Barret was "distracted" with a new wife.  
  
When Barret asked Vincent about how he found him, Vincent told him about his visit with Cid.  
  
The black man chuckled when Vincent told him about Cid's children. "HAha... I didn't dink dat old scoundrel had it in him... wow.... Three kids..".  
  
Vincent nodded. "Yes, Cid seemed quite content with his life..." He placed the empty tea cup on the small coffee table in front of him.  
  
Vincent asked Barret about the gold chocobo. Barret nodded his head towards Marlene. "I dunno man, you have to ask her...".  
  
Vincent shifted himself towards Marlene. The girl straightened herself and brushed her dark hair behind her ears. "Would it be alright if I borrow your Gold chocobo? I promise to return it, after I'm finished..".  
  
Marlene smiled shyly at Vincent's request. She was blushing. Vincent could hear Barret cracking his knuckles, but ignored him. "It's ok Vincent... you don't have to ask... as a matter of fact.. you can have it...". She looked up at him through her lashes.  
  
Barret put his foot down and yelled. "Say what? You gonna jes give dat bird up like dat?"  
  
Marlene stopped him. "Dad, it's just Vincent, who's using it... and ... he needs it more than I do... besides, if Vincent doesn't take the bird, than he'll just be sitting in the stable all the time.. I can't take the bird out any more.. he's become too unpredictable".  
  
Barret scowled. He knew that it was hard for Marlene to tame the feathered beast. Chocobo's only wanted master's who they felt were worthy enough to handle them. Cloud had given the gold chocobo to her as a gift on her 13th birthday. At first Marlene was doing alright because the bird had been tamed by Cloud, but when the Gold chocobo realized that Cloud was not its owner anymore, it became unstable. Nobody could've guess what would happen next.  
  
Marlene was participating in a chocobo race. One of the riders got too close to it, and the chocobo became mad. It almost threw Marlene off it's back, which would have killed her, because of the speed at which they were traveling. Barret was furious and wanted to kill that thing, but Marlene stopped him.  
  
Cloud wouldn't have given the bird to Marlene if he knew it would react like that. He even tried to take the bird back, but Marlene told him not to. She wanted to give it another try before giving up the creature.  
  
From that day forward, Barret has kept the beast locked and hidden away, for fear that it would hurt Marlene. Secretly, Marlene would visit the bird at night and fed it but she never got close to the animal, else it would kick her.  
  
Barret rubbed his chin. "Well, when ya put it like dat... I guess he can keep it.. but..." Barret pointed at Vincent. "You be careful.. that thing is dangerous.. ain't no one can touch him or get near him 'cept that spikey headed foo...".  
  
Vincent knew he meant Cloud. Vincent bowed his head graciously. "Thankyou...".  
  
It was late and the sun had long disappeared behind the horizon. Marlene asked Vincent where he was going to stay.  
  
Vincent replied, "Well, I passed an old inn before I came here, I was thinking about staying there for the night, and heading out in the morning."  
  
Barret clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Well.. now dat dat's setteled, it's gettin dark so you might as well be off yo way..". He tried ushering Vincent out.  
  
Marlene stopped him and frowned at her father. "Daddy.. I can't believe you!!! Vincent is our friend... and tonight he shall be our guest... I mean it's only right... don't you think so?"  
  
Vincent shook his head no. "I'm sorry I don't want to impose any longer than I have to...."  
  
Marlene waved her hand. "No, you're not imposing Vincent...Is he daddy?" She asked Barret with puppy dog eyes.  
  
Barret's eyebrow twitched. Man.. Vincent in his house...with Marlene? He didn't want Vincent to stay, but he could never say no to Marlene, so he relented much to Marelene's delight. She threw her arms over Barret's hulking shoulders and grabbed Vincent's hand.  
  
Before Vincent or Barret could protest, she dragged him up the stairs. "Daddy! Can you bring up Vincent's things?! I'm going to show him around so he doesn't get lost!!"  
  
Barret's eyes bulged...  
  
Vincent argued weakly. "I don't really need any help really...".  
  
Marlene interrupted him playfully. "Nonsense, I have to show you around! Don't you trust me?"  
  
Barret tried to say something but the two had already gone.  
  
"Great, so now what? I'm room service?"  
  
He grumbled obscenities under his breath and grabbed Vincent's bag.


	5. All you wanted

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope... oh i would seriously consider finding Rachmaninoff's 18th variation, Theme of Pagini, and listening to it during the piano scene.   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/All you wanted by Michelle branch/Dedicated to Marlene

I wanted to be like you  
I wanted everything  
So I tried to be like you  
And I got swept away  
  
I didn't know that it was so cold  
And you needed someone  
to show you the way  
So I took your hand and we figured out  
That when the time comes  
I'd take you away  
  
If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares  
  
I'm sinking slowly  
So hurry hold me  
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on  
Please can you tell me  
So I can finally see  
Where you go when you're gone  
  
If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares  
  
All you wanted was somebody who cares  
If you need me you know I'll be there  
Oh, yeah  
  
_[x2]_  
If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares  
  
Please can you tell me  
So I can finally see  
Where you go when you're gone

/

After Marlene showed Vincent around to her heart's content, she took him to the guest room. Barret had already brought up his bag and laid it on the bed along with some clean towels. Marlene took him back down and took him to the dining room where Barret was waiting.  
  
After dinner, Vincent excused himself, and retired to bed. If he was going to leave in the morning, he'd have to turn in early.  
  
Vincent couldn't go to sleep. He didn't know what time it was, but if he had to guess he'd say about 2:00 in the morning. It was a warm night and he had the window open. He was laying in his bed without his shirt on. The moon light caressed his body. Vincent turned to his side and thought about Barret and Marlene as well as Cid and his new life  
  
So time really didn't stop when I was in that coffin.  
  
Vincent turned his thoughts onto Cloud and Tifa. They were living in Kalm together. Were they married? He knew that Tifa cared a great deal about Cloud Strife... but Cloud really loved Aeris...  
  
He loves Aeris, just as much as I do with Lucrecia... but Cloud was braver than me, Vincent thought bitterly. He didn't go back to his coffin and hide...  
  
Instead, Cloud decided to live his life and move on without Aeris ... Vincent wished he had Cloud's ambition. He sighed. Vincent was closing his eyes trying to will himself to sleep when he heard music playing from downstairs.  
  
His crimson eyes cracked slightly. What was that? Was that coming from the piano downstairs? He recognized the song. It was one of his favorites. He hadn't heard it in years. Whoever was playing sounded a little off key, but it was hauntingly beautiful.  
  
Vincent sat up slowly, fully alert. His dark tresses fell over his shoulders and down his pale back. He stared at the door.  
  
The song beckoned to him, like a siren's call. Vincent brushed back his mane. I am curious... he got up from his covers and walked to the door.  
  
He had a funny thought. What if it's Barret on the piano? He dismissed the idea. First of all he couldn't picture Barret doing such a thing, second, he doubted that Barret would have the time or patience to sit down and learn how to play.  
  
He placed his claw on the door handle and paused before opening it slowly. He peered out from the door, and looked around the hallway before exiting. He stepped out into the hallway.  
  
He looked to his right towards Barret's room. He heard snores coming from that direction. It was no wonder Barret couldn't hear the music, he was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Vincent recounted the torturous times when he'd have to share a room with the man.. Cid would come in along with the rest of the team and try to stuff a pillow down his throat. When that didn't work, Tifa knew what to do. She along with Cid and Vincent forced the man to turn over onto his stomach. After that, the snoring stopped.  
  
Ah.. Barret.. you may look different, but you haven't changed at all. Vincent mused as he walked down the stairs and towards the sound of music.  
  
As he edged closer, the person playing the song began making tiny mistakes. The timing was off. Vincent stepped out into the living room. He saw Marlene at the piano. She looked like an apparition of the night. She was wearing a long flowing night gown. Her long hair shook ever so slightly when she reached for the keys. Her back was towards him. So she didn't notice him walking in until he was next to her.  
  
She gave a sharp gasp when he appeared. "Oh, Vincent..." She brought her hands over her bosom.  
  
She exhaled relieved that it was him and not some burgler. "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to wake you.... Its just that...well.. I love the piano...I mean I can't play during the day, because that's when all the people come, and they help daddy make the decisions for the town..."  
  
She smiled at him, and looked down at her feet, while gently caressing the keys with her fingers.  
  
"I guess I just got used to playing at night.. you know.. I mean... Daddy snores a lot.. and he can't really hear me play at night.. so .. I just use this opportunity to play. I'm so sorry for disturbing you...." She bowed her head.  
  
Vincent folded his arms over his bare chest. "It's alright Marlene... I wasn't sleeping anyways... I was contemplating about ... things..."  
  
Marlene looked up into his face. Her eyes were wide and innocent. "What kind of things Vincent?"  
  
He looked away from her face.  
  
"Just... it... doesn't matter anyways..." He told her tonelessly. "I came down to see who was playing the 18th variation of Rachmaninoff that's all..."  
  
"Oh," she replied and turned her attention back to the piano.  
  
"Do you like the piano?" she asked quietly.  
  
Vincent was silent for a moment then he answered her...  
  
"Yes... I do..".  
  
Marlene kept her eyes glued to the keys. "Vincent ... can you play..?" She asked.  
  
Vincent shuffled his feet. After a long pause, he answered  
  
"Yes...".  
  
Marlene looked into his face with hope. "Oh... Vincent.. can you play for me ... please..?"  
  
Vincent thought about what she was asking him. It's been a long time since he's touched the piano. He remembered the last day... he played the piano... it was for Lucrecia.... He hadn't gone near one since.  
  
"I'm sorry... but I can't..."  
  
Marlene had disappointment written all over her face.  
  
"I'll only play for the woman I love..."  
  
Marlene bowed her head so that her hair covered her face. Her eyes brimmed with tears... and her hands balled up in fists. She bit her lip. She didn't want to cry in front of Vincent, but he'd hurt her with his words... When Cloud introduced him to her, she fell in love... Her father thought he was a monster, but Marlene thought likewise. To her, Vincent was beautiful. Granted she was a child then... but, she had waited for him her whole life. He had been in every fantasy, and dream she's ever had. She was older now, and she could be with him. But now, that didn't seem possible.  
  
The tears rolled off her cheek and onto the pale piano keys. She didn't want to admit that Vincent had rejected her. Marlene sniffed, she felt like such a baby... No wonder he doesn't want to be with me.. she thought bitterly.. I'm disgusting... I'm so stupid.. How did I ever believe that he could ever love me...  
  
Vincent sat down on the piano stool next to her. He knew he hurt her, but he could never be what she wanted him to be... he was far gone.. and no one could save him.. Hojo had made sure of that when he gave him his claw and transformations.. Vincent slipped his hand under her chin, and tilted her face towards him so that she could see his eyes. Vincent saw the tears streaming down her face. He pressed his thumb to her face and wiped them off...  
  
"I'm sorry, .." He said with a sad smile. "I can never be what you want me to be....".  
  
Marlene sobbed and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his chest.  
  
"I just.. I just wanted to be with you... from the first moment I saw you..." She looked up into his face, "Everyone thought that you were a monster.. but not me... I always knew you were beautiful..".  
  
Vincent sat there with the weeping girl in his arms. A certain sadness crept into his heart. He wished he could tell Marlene that he loved her, but he knew it wasn't true. It was better that she found this out now then later in her life. She should know.. she can't waste her life on him. Marlene cried some more.. but as he held her in his arms, her sobs lessened, and so did her tears. She sniffed a few times, but then when she was done, she pulled away from his embrace. She wiped her tears, and straitened her back. She looked down ashamed as if she did something wrong. She smiled weakly at him.  
  
"I'm so sorry if I've inconvenienced you in any way Vincent..." She said meekly. "Please don't tell my father.. He'll be furious...".  
  
That was the last thing he wanted to do... Barret Wallace was no joke when it came to his daughter.. He loved Marlene more than life itself... He would probably try to kill Vincent if he knew what happened...  
  
"Don't worry, I won't tell..." He said with a little smile.  
  
She got up from the bench and walked toward the stairs, her nightgown flowed behind her. Without turning around, Vincent called out her name.  
  
"Marlene.. "  
  
She stopped in her tracks.  
  
"Don't feel ashamed about the tears you shed tonight.. it was beautiful the way you cried for me...it's love.... Love... it's not a weakness...".  
  
Marlene continued towards the stairs. She stopped when she got there and turned around...  
  
"Vincent.. if.. "her voice shook a bit. "If things were different, and you hadn't of met Lucrecia.. and if Hojo didn't give you your claw... would you have gone out with me? Would I even have had any chance?"  
  
Vincent sighed. "I would be too old for you Marlene..."  
  
She shook her head, "Aside from age.. would you have gone out with me?"  
  
Vincent thought about the question she was imposing on him. If things had been different? Then he wouldn't be who he was... but would he have gone out with her? If she was born early, or he around her time...  
  
"Yes..." He said answering her question. "Yes.. I would have considered dating you.."  
  
Marlene bit her lip. At least she found some solace knowing that if she had been born around his time, he would have been hers... With that thought in mind, she thanked him and headed up to bed. She wouldn't be dreaming about him anymore... she'd received the answer she needed to move on...  
  
The next morning, Vincent got up around 8:00 am. He got his stuff, went downstairs and saw that Barret had left the stable key on the dining room table for him, along with a note. Vincent picked up the key and opened the note with his claw.  
  
In the note, Barret told Vincent that he was sorry that he wouldn't be able to see him off. Barret was in town having a meeting about opening relations with the rest of Corel. Vincent was to leave the key in his office after he got his chocobo. Vincent took the key to the stable behind the house, and opened the deadbolt.  
  
The gold chocobo was awake and alert. The bird warked several times and ran around the stable frantically. Vincent stood his ground. The bird walked up to Vincent. HE was a yard away from the man with the strange red eyes. The bird cocked it's head to the side and looked at Vincent curiously. It blinked once, then twice. The bird let out a horrible screech, anyone would turn away, or cower at the horrible sound.  
  
Vincent didn't even flinch. He stood there unaffected by the bird's hostility. The creature ran towards Vincent at lightning speed and stopped when it was an inch away. It lifted up its hind leg and looked about ready to strike the pale man. But then, the bird bowed it's head and slowly lowered it's body to the ground.  
  
Vincent slowly stuck his hand out towards the chocobo. The bird looked at it curiously cocking it's head from one side to the other. It opened it's sharp beak and bit Vincent, playfully. The bird had sensed that Vincent was different than the other two.. but it also knew that he wouldn't hurt it. It gently nipped his hand without causing so much as a scratch. There, the bird had accepted him as it's new master.  
  
Vincent was a worthy master.. The bird chirped softly and patiently waited while Vincent saddled him up. Vincent led the chocobo to the front of the house. He did as Barret asked and left the key in his office. After he was done, Vincent got on his chocobo. The beast was careful not to throw his master off. Vincent started towards the North Corel gates. Before exiting, he stopped and looked back at the manor.  
  
Marlene was standing at her window. She smiled and waved at him.  
  
Vincent gave her a curt nod and was off. 

-End-


	6. Red's Cavern

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aries fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aries fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope... I think I got Red 13's age wrond too... I know he was 40 something when he joined so... I dunno. Anyways... enjoy!! oh and the song to listen at Cosmo Canyon? Escaflowne movie soundtrack no 9  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
(Tori Amos-Winter) This song is dedicated to Yuffie thinking about her dad  
  
Snow can wait I forgot my mittens

Wipe my nose Get my new boots on

I get a little warm in my heart When I think of winter

I put my hand in my father's glove

I run off where the DRIFTS GET DEEPER

Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown

I hear a voice

"You must learn to stand up for yourself

Cause I can't alyways be around"

He says when you gonna make up your mind

When you gonna love you as much as I do

When you gonna make up your mind

Cause things are gonna CHANGE so fast

All the white horses are still in bed

I tell you that I'll always want you near

You say that things change my dear

Boys get discovered as winter MELTS

Flowers competing for the sun

Years go by and I'm here still waiting

Withering where some snowman was

Mirror mirror where's the crystal palace

But I only can see myself

SKATING around the truth who I am

But I know dad the ice is getting thin

When you gonna make up your mind

When you gonna love you as much as I do

When you gonna make up your mind

Cause things are gonna CHANGE so fast

All the white horses are still in bed

I tell you that I'll always want you near

You say that things change my dear

Hair is grey and the fires are burning

So many dreams on the shelf

You say I wanted you to be PROUD of me

I always wanted that myself

Cause things are gonna change so fast

All the WHITE HORSES have gone ahead

I tell you that I'll always want you near

You say that things change my dear Never change All the white horses

It was much easier traveling on a gold chocobo. During his journey, he stopped at Cosmo Canyon. Nananki, or Red, as the group dubbed him, couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Vincent. Besides Vincent, Red was the only one that still looked the same. Red's aging process was slow. He was 43 years old when he joined up with Cloud. But in human years, he appeared as 16. Like Aeris, Red was the last of his kind. Hojo, tried to breed them together, but thankfully, Cloud had been there to save the day. Red 13 and Bugenhagen had bid him to stay for as long as he liked. Vincent thanked them, and stayed for three days. Enough time to replenish his supplies, feed his chocobo and find out about his old friends.  
  
Red 13 talked about the other surviving AVALANCHE members while Vincent sat by silently listening. Aside from Reeve, Red was the only one that kept in contact with all members of team, excluding Vincent, ofcourse. Red continued on with his stories. He spoke a lot about the little ninja/thief, Yuffie. Vincent had almost forgotten about her. He remembered traveling with her thinking that a child shouldn't be on a trek to save the world. That she should be at home. The team put up with her shenanigans because she was very handy with her giant shurikan. Other than that, Yuffie annoyed the living daylights out of everyone. She kind of annoyed Vincent but not as often as the others. She left him alone when she discovered he was an ex-TURK. He didn't think about her once after he left, but after all these years, Vincent was curious about the little thief and how she was doing.  
  
Apparently Vincent hadn't been the only one to jump ship after meteor. Yuffie left without a word to anyone. No one missed her presence except Red. Despite her thieving ways, Red was pretty close to Yuffie. They were both the youngest members on the team. Although Red was more mature, Yuffie made him laugh most of the times when things were dark. She was always playing practical jokes on Cait Sith and Cid. Red took no part in these "practical jokes", but he still thought it was funny when no one else did. Yuffie had been on several adventures after meteor. She was a curious little thing and she became something of a master at treasure hunting. She had come to visit Red often over the years... but one day, she stopped. Red 13 was worried that something had happened to his dear friend.  
  
A couple of years passed without a word from her then, Yuffie showed up out of the blue. She had changed. She seemed more grown up. The little mischief maker was gone, only to be replaced by a young woman. Yuffie apologized to Red for not visiting sooner. She had with her a bag of all the materia she had stolen from him. She also called him by his real name Nananki, which disturbed Red a great deal. When Red asked Yuffie why she changed, Yuffie told him that her father died and that now she had to take up the Kisaragi thrown and take care of her people. She explained to him, that her father Godo died from a rare heart disease. She had been on an adventure when it happened. The royal messengers had been sent to her inn room. They informed her to return to Wutai and that she was to take her father's place as the rightful heiress of Wutai. By the time she got back, she was ready to take over where her father left off. She was heartbroken, but she couldn't show it.  
  
Despite all of Yuffie's antics and disobedience, she loved her father and was devastated when he passed away. Godo had been well loved by his people, they all cried at the funeral but not Yuffie. Her people remarked at how brave and strong she was for not crying.. but Yuffie knew better. She knew that if she opened the damn, the flood would never stop. She couldn't allow herself to break. She had to be strong for her people. After she was done with the story, she had tears in her eyes. Red remained quiet and allowed her a moment of tears for her father. After her display of emotion, Yuffie bid Red farewell, and that she probably wouldn't visit him in a while. Red understood this and let her go. After Red was done telling the story, he sat by and looked at Vincent's face.  
  
There was something different about the stoic man. Red could smell that something wasn't right with Vincent. But then again what's not normal about him? Red remembered Vincent mentioning something about a woman named Lucrecia, the mother of Sephiroth. Did he visit her after meteor? Wasn't she dead?  
  
"Vincent? Are you ... alright?" Red didn't know if he had the right to ask, but he was worried about his friend. Vincent simply looked at him and then looked away.  
  
Vincent surprised him when he answered his question. "I will be soon enough... thankyou..."  
  
Other than Cloud, Red understood Vincent's predicament. Vincent was the only one who withstood Hojo's cruel experiments for a long time without going mad. Well, then again, he did lock himself in a coffin. Red eyed the dark man curiously. He didn't want to burden Vincent anymore than he had to, so he bid him good night, and retired for the evening. The next morning, Red got up early enough to see his friend off.  
  
As Vincent left Cosmo Canyon, he noticed the pictographs engrave alongside the red wall. He remembered he's asked Red about them a while back, when AVALANCHE first appeared together here as a team, and Aeris was still alive. Red told him that the carvings depicted a story, about a brave man who lost his soul to a Wendigo, a half beast/phantom creature that ate the flesh of its victim. It was said that because the young man was so brave, the gods took pity upon him, and gave him back his body, but he could not get his soul back. The man wandered around the world trying to find the wendigo that stole his soul. Years later, the man was walking down the same path he walked down when he was attacked all those years ago. He had not forgotten about the wendigo who attacked him. Again the same thing happened, except this time, the man was ready. When the creature jumped out of the forest he found himself facing the man's ax instead.  
  
The wendigo fell to the ground. As he lay upon the ground bleeding, the creature pleaded for his life. "I ate your flesh, because the gods had cursed me to do so... I beg for my life, please show me mercy"  
  
Instead of showing him mercy, the man brought his ax down onto the monsters head. With one fell swoop, the monster died. The man found his soul again... but... it had changed. In place of a soul, was a black stone. The man cursed the Gods, but the gods shook their heads in shame and pity. Although the monster took the man's life, he was true to himself ... he ate for survival. The man.. killed out of cold blood. He was no better than the Wendigo. From that day forward, the man became what he feared most... Vincent didn't know why he was reminded of that story just now, but he pushed it away and continued his ride towards the ancient city. There was something that he had to do. 

-End-


	7. Penance

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope... this is a pretty short chapter. Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks oh... and song to listen to while listening? Ah...lessee.... Ah hah... here..  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
[Music: Weston/Smail/Freund]  
  
[Lyrics: Smail]This is called Penance, by Penance/ Dedicated to Vincent  
  
Sit and watch the world, I contemplate  
  
Existence ill legitimate, a quirk of fate  
  
Is man of God or just Nature's folly  
  
Still with intelligence, we all are crawling  
  
One step forward and two steps back  
  
Bring man's destined descent into black  
  
What does existence hold for me  
  
A mutation of what man conceives  
  
Did you ever step back and look at yourself  
  
You might not like what you see  
  
And with each dawn that brings a new day's breath  
  
For most it means life, but for me it means death  
  
Man is a paradox drowning in irony  
  
The world is chained to man's reality  
  
Can't you see  
  
It wasn't meant to be  
  
Not you or me  
  
Humanity......You're killing me

/  
  
Thinking about Cloud made Vincent think about Aeris. He wanted to go visit her watery grave. After 3 days of traveling on the back of his Gold chocobo, Vincent found himself at the edge of the sleeping forest.  
  
It was getting dark. He remembered that the ancient city lay past the sleeping forest. Alright, I guess we can stay there for the night.. It was better than rooming with the crazed miners at Bone village. Vincent got off of his chocobo. He'd have to wait until morning to continue his travels.  
  
Vincent entered the forest and was unaffected by the magic of the trees. His bird however, warked nervously and even tried to pull away from him several times upon entering the forest. I'm sorry, I don't want to do this either, but it's better than staying out in the open area, where we can be easily attacked. Vincent apologized to the bird telepathically.  
  
The bird warked in cooperation and began to follow Vincent uneasily through the forest. Vincent quickly made his way through to the other side without incident. The chocobo seemed more at ease, now that they were out of the sleeping forest.  
  
Vincent took a long look around the ancient city. This was the second time he's been here. Things still looked the same when he last left the city. The streets were still littered with overgrown weeds and roots. It has been years since anyone lived here. There was no one here to take care of the city. It was no surprise to Vincent that things looked they way they were.  
  
There were stacks of homes on top of each other. Some of the buildings were in bad shape, but most of them were fine, with the exception of the tree roots. The first time he came here, was when Aeris passed away. At the time of her death, Vincent had been too engrossed in his pain to care about the tragic events that took place, but afterwords, he felt a pang of guilt when looking down upon her corpse. It had been Sephiroth's doing and in a way, Vincent felt as if Aeris's death was his fault as well. Which was why he wanted to see her and pay his respects. If he had gotten here in time, and told Sephiroth the truth about Lucrecia... maybe none of this would've happened.  
  
Well there was nothing he could do now, Sephiroth was dead. HE had kept his promise to Lucrecia. Vincent trudged through the ruined city in search for a suitable home for him and his chocobo. The chocobo followed obediently behind. There were overgrown trees inside the buildings and piles of rubble along the stone path.  
  
Vincent didn't have to look far. Although the city had been abandoned for years, the homes were built with extreme care. The walls were thick and the foundation stable. Ofcourse when you have mythrill support beams in your homes, it's quite impossible for the house to crumble. He stopped near a row of one story homes to his right. He tied the chocobo's reins to a tree branch protruding out of the musty window. The chocobo stamped it's left foot in anticipation for its meal and rest. Vincent stroked the bird's beak and the back of his head. The bird chirped softly and seemed to almost smile at this gesture.  
  
Vincent eyed the silent city cautiously. His chocobo had been running on two days without real rest. Vincent knew the limitations of his faithful bird. They stopped at an inn for a day, so the chocobo could rest, but that was two days ago and the poor thing had been over due for sleep.  
  
"I'm sorry, you'll get to rest soon enough". He told the bird.  
  
He cautiously pulled out his Winchester from his bag and cocked it back. You can never be too sure about how safe your environment is. Vincent opened the front door while the chocobo looked on.  
  
The first thing Vincent noticed was the tree which grew from the floor and through the ceiling. An overturned stone table was lying on the marble floor near the wall opposite of him. There were broken slabs of what seemed to be stone chairs strewn across the pale marble floor. There was a small fireplace on the other side of the tree. It hadn't been used for decades, not even a trace of ash could be found in it. The house seemed completely deserted. Nevertheless, Vincent wasn't satisfied until he checked the front and back of the house. He picked up broken pieces of the leftover chairs and scooped them over to the corner on his far right. He didn't want the bird to injure itself on the sharp broken objects. When he was done, he brought in the chocobo, tied the bird up next to the tree.  
  
After he fed the chocobo, Vincent lit a fire. He broke off branches from the tree, fed it to the flames and spread his crimson cloak on the floor. When he was done tending the fire, he went over to his pack (which he had propped up against the tree trunk) and pulled out his favorite weapon the Outsider. He laid it down next to him. The feathered creature was huddled against the thick of the tree, and quietly slumbering away.  
  
Vincent lied down and found himself gazing up at the stars through the broken ceiling. His hands folded over his abdomen. The sky looked so beautiful. Lucrecia used to look up at the stars with him, which was exactly how he met her. Vincent closed his eyes and allowed his mind to travel back to that day... The day he met Lucrecia.

-End-


	8. Lucrecia De Lune

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' I hope... this is a pretty short chapter. Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks oh... Sorry I know this is moving soo soo fast.. but please... bear with me... thanks...   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
(Lyrics by Chicago)  
  
A warm summer night

The moon above us

The stars for a wish come true

Are memories of love

A motionless pound

A beautiful swan

The smell of flowers growing near

Make me shed a tear  
  
Memories of love gone by

Make me stop and cry  
  
Now I kneel and pray

For the lord took her today

And all that's left to think of

Are memories of her love

/  
  
He remembered when he first saw her. . He was 20, and had just started his career as a TURK, an elite bodyguard, organization dedicated to protecting President Shinra. He was stationed on top of the Lucrecia was standing outside on the Shinra roof. She was wearing a white lab coat, and she had on a purple dress.  
  
He didn't know what she was doing up here, but as he approached her, the thin railing she was leaning up against came loose. Vincent made a quick dash. Both arms encircled around her tiny waist, pulling her to safety. She fell onto the floor and he on top of her.  
  
Lucrecia pounded her fists against his chest. "Get off of me...You!!"  
  
Vincent picked himself off the floor. He helped her up and before she could say anything to him, he slapped her.  
  
"What do you think you're doing out here? You could've been killed!" He shouted.  
  
Lucrecia brought her hands up to her red face. She couldn't believe it. Someone had hit her... forget about almost falling off the roof, she was furious. Tears stung in her eyes.  
  
"That was uncalled for!" she shouted back. "I can't believe you hit me!!"  
  
Vincent was about to retort something sarcastic back when he realized. Wait a minute, she was right... he did hit her. He swore that he would never hit a woman ever, and now he broke his promise.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't meant to.." He stammered.  
  
The young women looked at him, and her eyes welled up with tears.  
  
"I-I just really wanted to see the comet shower tonight.. I didn't think... that this would happen.." She pointed to the missing railing.  
  
Now he felt really bad. He made a woman cry. And not just any woman, he realized when he peered into her face, that she was remarkably pretty.  
  
"I-I'm so sorry... please accept my apologies.. I didn't know that there was going to be a comet shower tonight..." He stammered.  
  
Lucrecia shook her head, shaking her brown tresses.  
  
"I don't think so.. you TURKS are all the same... you think just because we're scientists, and you're all muscle heads, that you can just go and push us around!! Dammit, I knew I should've listened to Hojo, when he warned me about you guys." She spun on her heal and away from him.  
  
Vincent's unwavering gaze never left her. As she neared the door, something spectacular happened. Vincent jumped onto the ledge of the building. He called out to Lucrecia.  
  
"HEY YOU!"  
  
She turned around. What is it now? Does he want to make fun of me some more or what? When she saw him teetering on the edge of the roof, she screamed and ran a couple of feet towards him. She stopped when he held his hand up.  
  
Frustrated, Lucrecia screamed, "What do you think you're doing you idiot!?! Get down from there before you kill yourself!!"  
  
To her surprise, Vincent smiled.  
  
"I don't think so...."  
  
Lucrecia was terrified. "Why?! What- what are you trying to do? Do you have a death wish or something?"  
  
"I want you to accept my apology..." he told her with a wolfish grin.  
  
"You want me to what?" She asked. Her hands were outstretched in front of her as if trying to somehow she could cast a spell and protect him.  
  
It was getting really windy, and if he didn't get down from there, the wind was going to knock him off.  
  
Vincent held on tight to the railing. "I want you to accept my apology..."  
  
Lucrecia gave him a ludicrous look. This guy is nuts... He's doing all of this just for an apology? Nonetheless, she should agree and say something before this fool falls off.  
  
"Alright... alright.. I forgive you..." Is that all he wanted? She asked herself.  
  
Vincent was not through yet. "I have to ask one more thing... before I come down... and you have to promise to do it..or I'll jump"  
  
Lucrecia looked so puzzeled. Her beautiful face contorted into a frown. I'll just tell this guy whatever he wants.. and then afterwords, I'll tell Hojo and get this guy fired.  
  
"Alright... I'll do whatever you want.. please... just get down from there..."  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No I don't think so.. you were taking quite a while to decide... I don't think you meant it... now, I don't know... if I want to live any more... "  
  
He dangled one foot off the roof. Lucrecia cried out.. "No! Please Don't... I'll do it... anything.. please... please..."  
  
"Anything?"  
  
"Yes... anything.."  
  
Vincent gave her a charming smile. "Can I quote you on that?"  
  
Lucrecia nodded defeatedly. He had seen through her guise... What was she going to do if he really does jump off? The thought was too much for her. She stared at him crossly. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was having fun.  
  
Vincent leaned forward. "I want you to go out on a date with me..."  
  
Lucrecia was speechless. Here she was crying and freaking out ... and this this... horrible horrible man.. was baiting her. But what could she do? Does he really mean to jump?  
  
"If I say yes... you'll come down?"  
  
Vincent looked at her with puppy dog eyes... "Only if you say yes..."  
  
Lucrecia threw her hands up... "Okay.. okay... I will.. I'll go on a date with you... "  
  
Vincent stood on the ledge touching his chin with his index finger. He stood on the ledge pretending to think.  
  
"Okay..."  
  
And with that simple answer, he hopped off the ledge and proceeded towards the stricken girl.  
  
Lucrecia couldn't believe her eyes... What happened? Is she really going on a date with this guy?! This is ridiculous. First he slaps her, and now... he's forcing her on a date with him..  
  
Vincent strode up to the girl and with his best smile asks her. "So... where do you wanna go? I heard the Clumsy Frog is a great place for dinner."  
  
Oh the nerve of this guy!! Lucrecia fumed. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh or maybe both. Unfortunately her word was her word. Lucrecia stared at Vincent's face. He looked young, about twenty-one or twenty. He may be a horrific person... But nonetheless, she noticed that he had a nice smile. Lucrecia found herself being dragged towards the diner, with an annoying, but rather handsome Turk. As she walked beside him, she would give long side glances at him from the corner of her eye. She hoped he didn't notice. They got seated as soon as they came in.  
  
They were sitting at a small coffee table near a window. There were people walking by their window. The lunch menu was already at the table. Lucrecia browsed through it quickly.  
  
I don't want to be here for that long.. I just want this done and over with.. then I won't have to see him ever again... She thought to herself... or was she only trying to convince herself that?  
  
The waitress was nice, but she mistook them for a couple which made Lucrecia blush. "Hey so what'll the lovely couple have today?"  
  
Lucrecia stopped her.  
  
"Uh.. mam.. I'm sorry, but we're not together..."  
  
The waitress gave her a smile and said, "I know that sweetie, I was just saying that... It's too bad tho... you's two would make a good couple and you'd have nice lookin kids..."  
  
Lucrecai quickly cast her eyes down. "Oh... well.. um.. lets see..."  
  
She totally ignored what the waitress said. "Ah.. yes.. I think that I will have the number 6 special please.... And a side salad and water please...."  
  
Vincent grinned at her. He looked at the menu down in front of him and back at the waitress.  
  
"I would like to have a number two and a glass of red wine please."  
  
The waitress took down their order. "Ok, just to warn you guys, we're a bit short staffed so it might take a while for you food to come out."  
  
Vincent gave her a quick nod and then she was off. Lucrecia gave him a funny look after the waitress left.  
  
"Vincent,.. aren't you supposed to be working?"  
  
Vincent turned to Lucrecia, "Didn't I tell you? I got off 2 hours ago?"  
  
Lucrecia looked even more puzzled.  
  
"So wait, then, what were you doing on the roof an hour ago?"  
  
"I was doing some last minute rounds... most of the guys never do... but ... I always like to make sure everything's in order before going home, that way, if anything happends, I won't get blamed...Besides, if I hadn't have made my rounds, you wouldn't be here having dinner with me..."  
  
Lucrecia looked at him thoughtfully. She let her eyes slide over his body. This man had black hair, and pale skin. He had the clearest blue eyes she'd ever seen. They had a bit of a grey tint in them. She felt like she was staring into the ocean.  
  
He was lean, but not too thin. Lucrecia didn't like men that were too thin... they end up looking like Hojo, and although she cared deeply for her friend, she didn't share the same passion for him as he did for her.  
  
This guy was well attired. He had on a blue suit with a white collared shirt underneath, which is the usual dress code for a Turk, but Vincent really did make the suit look good..  
  
Oh god.. is that what she really thought of him? Don't tell me you like this guy Luca, she told herself, you don't even know his name..  
  
"Vincent..."  
  
Lucrecia blinked her eyes.  
  
"huh?"  
  
"Vincent Valentine.. that's my name..."  
  
The TURK said with an steady gaze. It was like he could read her mind!  
  
Lucrecia felt her face grow hot under his unwavering observations of her.  
  
"O-Ooh.. yeah.. I'm Lucrecia.... Lucrecia .. De lune."  
  
Vincent paused as if tasting her name upon his lips.  
  
"Lucrecia De lune. That's a beautiful name..."  
  
Vincent could tell that Lucrecia was interested about him. Of course he wouldn't blame her, he did act poorly in front of her when he threatened to throw himself off the ledge if she didn't agree to go out with him.  
  
He smiled in spite of himself. I don't know why I did that.. It's not like me at all.... He had been acting peculiar ever since he saw her standing there on that roof top. What had changed? Ofcourse having never fallen in love before, Vincent didn't know what it was, not even after it smacked him in the head.  
  
Lucrecia was a beautiful woman. She had shyness about her, and this aura that surrounded her was incredible. She had long wavy brown hair, and creamy skin. Her eyes were grey. She was thin and flawless... Beautiful...  
  
Vincent was sure that Lucrecia had been observing him as well. Obviously she liked what she saw, otherwise she wouldn't be looking at him like that. Vincent knew that he was good-looking. He wasn't going to hide it, but he didn't like to flaunt it either. He was very modest when it came to his looks. As long as it got him the right kind of attention he wanted, he was satisfied.  
  
"Vincent?" Lucrecia called him.  
  
Vincent arched his brow. "Yes?"  
  
Lucrecia tilted her head thoughtfully. "I was wondering.. where did you come from?"  
  
Vincent nodded his head and closed his eyes, and open them. "That.. is a rather long... story... Miss De lune, If I told you my life story.. then we won't be able to talk about you-"  
  
Lucrecia blushed, "Well, I don't mind... I- I mean, we're probably going to be here for a while. The food isn't here yet... so.. why don't we amuse each other... but you first..."  
  
Vincent paused for a moment. Lucrecia chided. "Ah.. here we go .. Now I'M starting to think that you don't want to talk to me and that you dragged me out here for nothing... and –"  
  
Vincent stopped her. "No- no it's nothing like that.. it's its just that I've never told anyone anything about me... and... "  
  
He wet his lips. "Well, you're the first person I've actually spoken to like this..."  
  
Lucrecia made an "O" face. "Oh, I'm surprised... don't you have any friends?"  
  
Vincent smiled. It seemed like such a sad smile, Lucrecia noted.  
  
"I- no, no I don't have any real friends..."  
  
Lucrecia frowned. Her features softened.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, why – oh, would I be intruding if I asked why?"  
  
Vincent shook his head, "No, not at all... I just.. it's a long story..."  
  
Lucrecia propped her elbows on the table and placed her chin in the palms of her hands.  
  
"It's alright... I don't mind at all....please.... begin..."  
  
For the first time in his life he felt... relaxed and free. Vincent paused, sighed and then he began to tell her his story....

-End-


	9. Vincent's Past

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. This is a fairly short chapter... it briefly mentions Vincent and the old man... this is kind of an important part in the story because it has a lot to do with what's going to happen in the future with Vincent and Aries...  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
(Sorry I can't think of any songs right now.. )  
  
Vincent's home was located in Gongaga town. As a child, Vincent did not grow up in a stable environment. He had no siblings to play with, so he didn't know what to do or say, when the other children wanted to play with him. He often sat somewhere by himself either immersed in a picture book of some kind.  
  
He held great respect for older people. Older people they have been around longer, which means that they held the gift of knowledge,. He was a curious little boy and wanted to know all there was to know about life.  
  
Vincent remembered visiting an old woman next door. She was a little bit more well off than he and his parents. She used to give him milk and cookies whenever he came over, which was a lot.  
  
Vincent's father was a horrible man, who'd come home at night drunk and beat up on his mother. He never touched Vincent though, his mother wouldn't let the bastard near him.  
  
Vincent loved his mother, and she doted on him with her affections and admiration. She'd hope that one day, he would be someone, maybe a police officer of some kind. Vincent returned her affection as well. One day, he came home, and found the police there.  
  
Apparently, his father had lost his job. He went mad, and took his life as well as Vincent's mother's. Vincent was 8 years old when this happened. He was devastated, yet, he wouldn't cry.  
  
Why, why wouldn't you leave him mother? It's your fault for condemning yourself to this fate.. and now I'm all by myself. After the funeral, Vincent swore that he would never be like his father. HE would never hit a woman.  
  
There was an old man who lived near him, he decided to take Vincent into his home. The man was a well known scholar, and he taught him how to read and write. Vincent had a lot to catch up on because his parents could not afford to put him in school.  
  
The old man also taught him how to play the violin and the piano. Vincent loved the old man, and the old man loved him like a son.  
  
When Vincent turned 16, he could speak 3 different languages, and write in four. He mastered the piano, and would've mastered the violin, if he wasn't too preoccupied with the piano.  
  
He could draw and paint as well. Vincent read over thousands and thousands of literature. It turned out that he had a knack for learning. He just loved it. When he turned 17, he decided to leave home and head out for the big city.  
  
He attended the best college in Midgar city, The Shinra Academy, which hosted Midgar's finest. He wrote every day to the old man in Gongaga Town. Vincent didn't have to attend college for that long, it turned out that, the old man taught him so well, that whenever he took his exams, he passed with flying colors.  
  
He didn't even have to read his books or stay awake in class. He even taught his teachers a thing or two. Vincent became Valedictorian in the grade above him and graduated in record time. He was 19. It was after that that Vincent joined the TURKS.  
  
After he was done, Lucrecia sat there in awe. "So- wait you're telling me ... that you can speak 3 languages, and write in four, and you're a 20 year old genius?"  
  
Vincent nodded. "Yes."  
  
Lucrecia grabbed at her hair. "No.. why did you decide to be a Turk? You could've helped out so many people... you could've been a scientist or a doctor... Why choose this profession to major?"  
  
Vincent sighed... "That my dear, is another story... and if you want to know more... that would require a second date... Wouldn't you agree?"  
  
"Oh that's' not fair..." Lucrecia protested playfully.  
  
Vincent chided, "You know you want to.."  
  
The waitress finally came out with their food. "Ok you guys, thanks for being so patient.. ya know.. we're sorry for any inconvenience that we caused you."  
  
"Oh, that's fine, "Lucrecia assured her.  
  
The lady left and returned with their drinks. Three people came into the diner, the waitress excused herself and left to deal with the customers.  
  
"Oh this smells great..." Lucrecia commented as she waffed the delicious fragrance towards her nose.  
  
She grabbed the fork sitting next to her plate. "I'm starving, I can't wait to just dive in..."  
  
Vincent agreed. "Uh huh... I love frog meat.. it's so tasty..."  
  
Lucrecia dropped her fork, "Frog what?"  
  
Vincent looked at her quizzically. "You know.. that this place serves only frog meat right? I mean there's a reason why it's called Clumsy Frog.."  
  
Lucrecia turned a shade of green. "Ugh god... that's so gross..."  
  
Vincent chuckled, "Didn't you read the menu?"  
  
Lucrecia shook her head no. "I was so nervous after the waitress made that comment about us... I just picked something...."  
  
She got up and ran for the bathroom. Vincent shrugged his shoulders, grabbed her plate of food and dished the rest of it onto his.

-End-


	10. Aeris Still Alive!

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. This is a fairly short ... anndddd... I still don't have any songs!!  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
Vincent awoke in the middle of the night with a violent start. Had he fallen asleep? The air was cool. The night was dark and the shadows created by the soft flames, crept around him like wolves. The fire was dying down, and the chocobo had been sound asleep. He didn't know what caused him to wake up like that, but he knew something was up.  
  
He reached for the Outsider next to him. Vincent sat up and listened for sound of any kind. At first he didn't hear anything unusual, but then, he heard it. That noise.. it sounded like someone splashing around in the water.. He could've sworn he heard something whimpering or coughing... It sounded human, and it was coming from the lake where Cloud buried Aeris..  
  
This puzzled Vincent greatly. He could've sworn that there was no one here but him and the chocobo. Vincent to a quick gander around the room, and stood up. Whatever it was, he had to check it out. It could be someone in trouble. Vincent left the comfort of his room with the Outsider in hand, and proceeded out towards the darkness.  
  
His night was just getting stranger and stranger by the moment. What in the world is going around here? He went down by the water to see what was going on. He'd guessed right, there was a person drowning in the lake. Maybe it's a wandering merchant? Or a treasure seeker. Or maybe a foe?  
  
Vincent didn't know what to think, but he had to react soon before the person disappeared under the crystal waters. As much as he didn't want to leave his beloved gun behind, he thrust it down to the ground. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and jumped in. God it the water was freezing. Vincent ignored the biting water and swam towards the struggling person.  
  
It was dark and he couldn't make out the face of the struggling stranger The person was either insane, or didn't know how to swim. It seemed every time he reached for the person, that person would struggle even more, like he didn't know what was going on. The person's movement's became more frantic. He/she began kicking. Vincent knew that if he didn't do any thing soon, the person would most likely go down and most likely take Vincent down with him.  
  
Vincent pulled back his hand and punched the stranger in the face. He felt the body go limp, and he took the opportunity to grab a hold of the person's shirt and drag them to shore, only when he grabbed for the man's shirt, he'd discover that it was a woman, he was holding not a man.  
  
Too cold to rebuke himself for what he'd done, he swam back with the woman. He dragged her to the edge of dry land. She collapsed from exhaustion. Vincent was breathing heavily he fell on his knees next to the woman. He looked around his surrounding to make sure they didn't disturb anything from it's resting hole. Vincent picked up his weapon and his shirt. He knew better than to linger around in the darkness for long. There were too many things around that went bump in the night and he didn't want to meet up with any of those things. Last but not least, he hoisted the girl over his shoulder. He took another look around to make sure everything was safe, and made way towards his little "campfire".  
  
As soon as he got home, he layed the girl down on the floor. He went over to the tree and broke off some more leaves and branches to feed the fireplace. The girl coughed and moaned. Vincent cast a quick glance over his shoulder then returned to rekindling the fire. The fire was getting bigger now. Good. He thought as he buttoned his shirt on. His black pants were soaked, and stuck to his skin. Vincent ignored the awkward feeling and went over to the passed out female. Thank God for the light, now I can see if she's wounded or not.  
  
As he neared her, he paused, he could tell that the girl was young, and very pretty. But there was something familiar about her too. He sat down next to her and tilted her face towards the light so he could see clearer.  
  
My God...  
  
"Aeris ..."  
  
Vincent whispered her name, like a ghost. How could this be? This is impossible... Vincent narrowed his eyes and peered down at Aries's pitiful face. He saw the bruise on her chin. Vincent felt ashamed for hitting her, but he had no choice.  
  
Aeris's eyes were closed. He checked her wrist for her pulse. Good, it was normal. Vincent wanted more than anything to shake her awake and ask her questions. But he knew better. Interrogating her now wouldn't help anything. Besides, I don't think that she would be in the proper state of mind to answer right now, he told himself nonchalantly. Instead, he focused on the dire situation. Aeris, or whoever she was had been in the freezing water for how long? She could get sick or worse yet, frostbite.  
  
Vincent picked up the unconscious girl and brought her by the fire. He took off her layers of wet clothes. He left her undergarments on and went over to his pack. He'd packed an extra pair of slacks and shirts, he pulled them out of his backpack and quickly put them on the wet girl. He went over to his cloak. He picked it up from the floor and wrapped the cloak around Aeris's form.  
  
He grabbed the rest of her clothes and hung them by the fire to dry. Her hair was still wet, but at least she was dry. Aeris shivered slightly, and Vincent went over to her. He sighed. She was still cold. He laid down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. The fire was warm. And slowly, but surely, Vincent could feel the warmth spreading over her body. Vincent was already warm. But he was so tired.

Maybe, I can contact Cloud tomorrow on my PHS communicator.... I don't know if it works, but I'll use it anyways, maybe, he'll know what to do with Aeris ....

His eyelids were getting heavy and he could feel the arms of morpheus surrounding him. Within a few minutes, Vincent was fast asleep.

-End-

Good.. the party's getting started....


	11. 10 years?

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. This is a fairly short ... anndddd... I still don't have any songs!! Yeah, Vincent's just a little touchy today... so... don't bother him...   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/

When Aeris woke up the next morning, she'd realized that she was laying on the floor of a familiar yet strange house. She slowly got up. The huge crimson cloak fell off her shoulders. Aeris wiped the sleep away from her bright green eyes and yawned. Her face felt sore for some strange reason. She went to touch her chin, and winced.  
  
"Ouch..."  
  
I wonder how that got there.....I guess I must have banged up against something last night.... She thought as she looked around the house.  
  
There was a fireplace in front of her. There were ashes and red embers, that emanated from within. Scattered stone pieces were gathered up into a corner of the room as well as feathers. Looks like someone has a chocobo.. An overturned table sat on the far side of the room.  
  
From the looks of things.. I'd say I'm in the Ancient City still.  
  
A huge tree trunk protruded out from the floor behind her and through the ceiling. There was a black bag sitting next to it. Aeris wanted to peer inside of the bag just to see who it belonged to, but she was more interested in how she came about this place. She remembered seeing Cloud's face before she felt a stabbing pain through her abdomen. She could hear Sephiroth's insidious laughter. Aeris also remember feeling her life slip away as Cloud held her in his arms. He was crying, but she could not console him... As she passed away, she saw Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE do battle with a monster.... And after they were done.... Cloud took her to the lake.....  
  
But that was all.... She could recall the last moments of her death, and the promise land... but, everything after that was a blur. Did someone take her out of the lake and bring her here? Obviously yes... but when she tried to recall the events that took place last night, she couldn't remember a single thing. Aeris bit her lower lip in frustration. She wrapped a strand of hair around her right index finger. What to do, what to do..  
  
Aeris got up from the floor. When she did that, she noticed that she was wearing different clothes. In place of her pink dress were black pants, and a black shirt minus her shoes. She was in her bare feet.  
  
Did someone change me last night?  
  
She glanced around the room curiously and noticed her clothes hanging by the fireplace. She went towards them and touched them. Ofcourse... now she remembered. She was in the water.. struggling, and she couldn't swim. But then someone came and pulled her out. And now here she was..  
  
Aeris was tired, and she wanted to sleep some more, but she knew that she couldn't. She had a lot of work to do. She had to locate Vincent. . Why did her mother only ask for Vincent and not Cloud or any of the other AVALANCHE members? Aeris racked her brain for any kind of clue as to what her mother may have been talking about. Maybe we have to save the planet again or something... Aeris gave up on that question a few seconds later. There's no point in thinking about it.. It's not like I'm gonna find out anything soon.  
  
Aeris wanted to thank whoever had rescued her from drowning, but the person wasn't here. Oh well, Aries grabbed her things. Before she changed her clothes, she took a quick look around the room and the front of the house to make sure that no one was coming. Good, I don't think anyone's here. As she undressed herself, her mind lingered towards the members of AVALANCHE. She'd missed everyone.. She wondered about where they were and what they were doing at this very moment. More than anything, She wanted to see Cloud.  
  
She cared about him deeply and still did. One could even say that she loved him. Aeris thought about Tifa and how she was. Aeris remembered that both she and Tifa had feelings for Cloud. It was obvious to everyone that Tifa loved him. And Cloud? Did he reciprocate her feelings as well? She felt a twinge of jealousy as she slipped the big black shirt off her slim shoulders. Aeris had to admit it.. She was tempted to go out and search for Cloud. She wanted to tell him how she felt. But her mother's warning rang in her mind. "You can't see your friends, not yet anyways... ". She knew what her mother meant by that comment. If she were to seek Cloud out now, she might do something that could unbalance the unseen future.  
  
Aeris sighed wearily. Being a Cetra is never easy..... But at least that means that maybe sometime in the future she would be able to see him and tell him once and for all that she loved him. She pondered if Cloud was thinking about her right now. The long black pants fell onto the floor next to the shirt. Aeris was about to slip her pink dress over her head when she heard a loud "Wark", and sounds of footsteps approaching. She gasped in alarm and accidentally dropped her dress on the floor in panic. "Oh no.."  
  
She only had enough time to run to the other side of the tree and pressed herself against the thick trunk. She grabbed her face with both hands. God her face was hot. Was she blushing. She could feel her heartbeat against her chest.  
  
Oh god... Aeris thought hopefully, Well, maybe it's a woman? She heard the footsteps come into the home and paused. She heard some more shuffling, and then another pause.  
  
Maybe they're putting something away? Aeris bit her lip. Oh god what should she say? Excuse me, but could you please hand me my dress? I'm behind this tree and practically naked. Yeah right.  
  
What if this person is a pervert? Aeris dismissed that idea since she woke up this morning in some clothes other than hers, she figured that person probably changed her and got a good look of her body, anyways...  
  
At least he/she was kind enough that they left her undergarments on her, so they couldn't have been that perverted. The footsteps started again, and she could hear the person getting closer. Well, I can't hide behind this tree forever. I might as well just say something.  
  
"Ah... " Aeris started...  
  
She heard the footsteps stop.  
  
"uhm, I'm sorry, but, I'm a bit underdressed behind this tree and I was wondering if you could please hand me my things... so that I can get dressed... and personally thankyou for saving my life last night..."  
  
Gods that was embarrassing, but oh well, it wasn't as if Cloud was here to see her fumbling around like a fool. There was a pause for a second and then Aeris heard her name.  
  
"Aeris..?"  
  
Her heart stopped. It's a man's voice, but who could it be? She slowly and cautiously stuck her head out from behind the tree.  
  
"Who- how do you know my na-"  
  
Before she had any chance to finish, her face turned beat red. She quickly pulled her head back again. Oh god...  
  
It was Vincent.  
  
What in the world was he doing here? How did he find her? And so soon? Did he somehow find out that she would be here? Oh the questions... Aeris needed some answers and fast, but she couldn't speak to him without any clothes on.  
  
Vincent felt awkward. He wanted to speak to Aeris, but he didn't want to speak to her like this. "Aeris, I'm sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to see if you were alright... I will leave and wait for you outside. please continue... doing what you were doing before..." With those words, he left. He felt a bit guilty for walking in on her while she was dressing. Granted he didn't mean to do it... if he'd known earlier that she was getting changed, he wouldn't have gone in. Vincent leaned up against the stone wall outside waiting for Aeris to finish changing.  
  
Before dawn, Vincent had awaken from slumber. He found himself next to Aeris with his arms around her and he was a little perturbed at first, but then he remembered saving her from the lake and taking her back to the house. Vincent got up from the floor. He took the chocobo and went out fishing by the lake when it got light enough outside. When he got there, he noticed a little shining piece of materia by the edge of the lake. It was pale green. He picked it off the ground and studied it. This looks like Aeris's White materia.  
  
It must've washed up onto the shore. I should take it back to her when I'm done.  
  
He placed it in his left pant pocket. Vincent stayed by the lake and caught six fishes. He gave two to his Chocobo. After he was done fishing, he put the fishes in a little sac he brought with him and headed back. In no way did he think that Aeris would be up this early. It was 9 in the morning. She seemed so exhausted last night. Vincent thought that she'd be asleep for another two hours or so.  
  
Vincent scratched the chocobo's head while he waited for Aeris. When she was finished, she cleared her throat to signal that she was done. Vincent walked into the house. He saw her standing before him. She was wearing her pink dress and her brown traveling shoes. Aeris lost her bow in the lake so she wore her hair down instead. Her pale skin was a little redder than usual, probably from the excitement for having him walk in on her, just now. Aeris had her eyes down as if embarrassed by the whole thing. She brushed her thick hair back from her face prettily.  
  
"Ah.. I'm sorry, I didn't think there was anyone around... so I just got changed..."  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No the fault lies within me, Aeris, I didn't know you were awake... I should've been more considerate.... But nonetheless, I left earlier to fish by the lake, and found this.... "  
  
He reached inside his pocket and pulled out the materia. Aeris stared with bated breath as he handed over her precious materia. She stared at it for a second or two, and then accepted it. She closed her hand around the tiny gem, and felt the magic of the White materia, fill her soul once more. She closed her eyes and looked peaceful for a moment. Vincent blinked and stood by watching nonchalantly. With the materia in her palm, she placed her hand over her heart. The little bead of magic seeped through her skin painlessly and back into her body. After performing her little ceremony, her green eyes flashed open.  
  
"Thankyou Vincent, "she whispered.  
  
Vincent nodded. Aeris cocked her head to the side. There was something important that she needed to know.  
  
"Vincent... how did you know.. that I was going to be here?"  
  
Vincent narrowed his red eyes. "I didn't..." He said. "I was actually came here to pay my respects to your grave...."  
  
She lowered her eyes to the floor.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Now it was his turn to ask a question. He didn't know how to say it without sounding like a jerk, so he just said it.  
  
"Aeris, why did you come back? I mean... you died, we all saw Cloud put you in the lake... How could you have survived for this long?"  
  
Aeris knew this was coming... She was contemplating on what to tell him. She really wanted to tell him that she had an answer to his question... But to be truthful she really didn't know why she had come back... All she knew was what her mother told her... and that wasn't helpful at all. Aries shuffled around nervously before answering.  
  
"Well Vincent, the thing is... I'm a little bit clueless as to why I'm back here as well...."  
  
She wrung her hands together. She explained everything that happened to her in the promiseland. She talked about meeting her mother and she explained to Vincent what her Iflana told her. When she was done, she noticed that Vincent was quietly studying her making sure that she was telling the truth. She really couldn't blame him for being so distrusting of her. She knew that she would have a hard time believing him if the tables were turned.  
  
"Listen, I know that this is a bit much to take in ... but I am telling you the truth... you have to believe me...."  
  
Vincent looked away from her. "Aeris ... why did your mother tell you to seek my help?"  
  
Aeris shook her shoulders and hung her head so that brown strands of her hair hid her face from his scrutiny.  
  
"I don't know Vincent.. all I know is what she told me.."  
  
Vincent frowned.  
  
"That's not a good enough answer Aries.. that doesn't explain anything.. why on the earth would they send you back? And to me of all people? Why not ask for Cloud?"  
  
Aeris threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know Vincent... your guess is as good as mine! Don't you think I asked myself that same question?"  
  
She didn't want to admit it, but she didn't like the way he spoke to her. Although he hadn't raised his voice at her, it seemed as if he was blaming her for coming back. Why was Vincent being so rude and inconsiderate? She had never really spoken to him on a personal level even when she was alive, they barely exchanged words of any kind, maybe a hello once or twice, but never a full blown conversation. But he always seemed like a decent man..  
  
Almost too gentlemanly, if you ask me... Aeris sighed. "I'm sorry, I don't have any answers for you Vincent... all I know is that I am supposed to meet up with you.. and that we are supposed to do something together... I don't know what it is.. but we can't let anyone else know that I'm back."  
  
Vincent's crimson eyes grew wide.  
  
"Why can't we let them know? I'm sure that Cloud and the rest of Avalanche would want to see you again.."  
  
"that's all my mother told me...", Aeris said hoping that he'll accept her answer.  
  
Vincent shook his head. "But Aeris, your mother told you, that I would know what to do... I don't even know what I'm supposed to do... "  
  
She bit her bottom lip.  
  
"Well, "she answered, "Is there something about you that's different? I mean.. I couldn't have been away for that long... you still look the same as you did when I ... "she trailed off because she didn't want to think about her untimely demise.  
  
Vincent shut his eyes and scratched his head as if annoyed. "It wouldn't make a difference if you were to come back fifty years from now or a hundred, I am destined to look like this for as long long time.. Nothing's different with me... I will never change.."  
  
Aeris furrowed her brows. "So, you mean, you can't age?"  
  
"No, I cannot". He said indifferently, but she could detect a hint of annoyance in his tone.  
  
"Oh.."  
  
They left it at that. Vincent starting to get frustrated. They were going nowhere. He spun on his heel and walked away from her. Aries was still curious.. How long had she been gone for? She remembered what her mother said.  
  
"Things are going to be different..."  
  
What did she mean by that?  
  
"Vincent, you still didn't answer my question... how long have I been gone?" she called out after him.  
  
Vincent didn't turn around. He picked up his bag in one quick motion and hoisted it over his shoulder.  
  
"10 years," He answered monotonously and continued out the door.

-End- Poor Aeris... =(


	12. Icicle Inn

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. Oh um, this is kinda a funny chapter... so, it's really silly, but i think that certain fangirls might enjoy it... nope still no songs... sorry.... Oh, this is gonna get kinda slow... sorry, but the icicle in chapters, are going to take a while, becuase it goes more into depth about Vincent's character.... but don't worry, there will be lots and lots of sswhoopin in here in the late late later chapters... but i promise, if you keep reading, it will get better! thanks for your inputs!! oh an brief mention of rumiko takehashi and her ranma characters in here, those are hers.. not mine... oh an pokemon... and ffX2 lol you'll see... read on...  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/

They were traveling towards Icicle inn... Aeris couldn't believe it. 10 years!? I've been gone that long? Time passes by faster in the afterlife than it does here. To her, it seemed as if she'd been gone for at least a day or two. She thought about Cloud and pondered about the thought of him being with Tifa.  
  
I can't believe that it's been that long... She hoped that he wouldn't be... As ridiculous as it was, she hoped that he waited for her... She knew it was selfish to think like that, but she couldn't help it...  
  
Despite her mother's warnings, she really wanted to see Cloud.  
  
They had been riding for a good two hours. Aeris had her hands wrapped around Vincent's waist so that she wouldn't fall off. In spite of her Vincent's silence, Aeris smiled in delight. It had been a while since she rode on the back of a chocobo. She loved these feathered beasts. They were such adorable and agile creatures. As far as animals go, chocobo's were pretty smart.  
  
The golden chocobo was the most intelligent of it's kind, but coming across one is rare. They were also known for their speed and agility. They could cross mountains and oceans because they moved so fast. Its very hard to find a gold chocobo, the ones that exist were probably bred in captivity. Aeris pondered about Vincent's golden chocobo and where he obtained the beautiful creature. Her green eyes flashed as she turned them towards Vincent.  
  
She could only see his back. The long strands of ebony cascaded down his back like silk. She was tempted to touch them... but elected not to, because it seemed that Vincent was the sort that couldn't stand to be touched. She remembered when she climbed up on the back of the Chocobo, she almost fell, so when she suddenly threw her arms around the silent man, he tensed.  
  
What was wrong with him? Was she that irritable that he couldn't stand to be around her? As they traveld north, the wind was getting harsh. And little flecks of snow flew into Areis's hair and face when he tried to peer over Vincent's broad shoulders. She was starting to get cold and shivered despite her best efforts to conceal this fact to Vincent.  
  
He was worried about Aeris. HE did seem a little careless with her feelings back there in the forgotten capitol, but he didn't mean to be... True, he was frustrated about his... no "their" current position, but what's done is done.. Aeris was here to stay, and they had to find out why?  
  
Vincent thought about what Iflana told her daughter.... Vincent will know what to do..... what did she mean by that? He thought that he had already accomplished what he sought out to do by making up with Lucrecia and killing Sephiroth.... What else did he have to do?  
  
He was busy in his thoughts, when suddenly Aeris shivered. The winds and snow didn't bother Vincent. He was almost impervious to the ever changing weather... HE could withstand a certain amount of heat and cold... but not for long... If the weather became too extreme, he would not survive. But he was alright for now... but how could he have been so thoughtless about Aeris...  
  
She had on her pink dress and that was it.... Realizing how calloused he had been towards the young woman, Vincent ordered his chocobo to halt. Aeris poked her head out from behind to see if they were at the inn.  
  
"Why did we stop? A-Are w-we there yet?" She said through chattering teeth.  
  
Vincent turned his head slightly so that she could see his profile.  
  
"No we're not there yet...."  
  
He slipped off his bird. Aeris stared down at him in wonder... What is he doing? Are we stopping for a short break? I'm freezing my tail off here...  
  
She was surprised when he pulled off his cloak and handed it over to her. He did it in a graceful and elegant motion.  
  
"Here... wear this..." he told her.  
  
She was too cold to argue, so she took the cloak out of his hands greatfully and thanked him. She looked down at her body, and wrapped the red cape around herself. It was nice and warm. When she turned to ask Vincent what he was going to do, he had turned from her and walked ahead.  
  
What is he doing? She wondered. Is he scouting or something?  
  
Vincent had one had over his eyes and claw in front as if to block the snow from his path. The snow was getting worst, it was coming down on a slanted angle from the mountain furiously. It was almost as if someone put up the snow barrier to keep them out.  
  
Although the snow was biting, Vincent took this as a good sign, at least they were getting close to the inn.... In another hour or so, they would reach it... He headed back towards Aeris and the Chocobo.  
  
When he got on his chocobo, Aeris asked where he went, he told her that he wanted to check to see how far away from the town they were. Aeris wrapped her arms around his torso.  
  
"Oh.." she said.. she rested her head on his shoulder while they rode on.  
  
When they got there, Aeris became extremely excited. She'd never expected to return back in the town where she, father and mother had lived... She wondered if her old house was still there. She asked if she could look around town.  
  
Vincent nodded and told her to meet up with him at the Inn on the other side of town... Before he let her go, he told her that if she ran into trouble, or anyone from her past, she was to go straight to the inn and that he'd be there. He pointed in the direction she was to go. Vincent could tell that she was excited and wanted to explore.... She was like a big kid....  
  
Aeris nodded and ran off. Her cheeks were rosy and there was a little bit of redness at the tip of her nose. Vincent took the Gold chocobo over to the inn that he and the rest of AVALANCHE had stayed during their journey to the North Crater. The outside was different... it looked a little bit bigger. The probably added on to it... Vincent thought as led his chocobo to the inns stable. He left the bird and headed inside.  
  
When he went in, there was an old inn keeper sitting at the desk.. Apparently, he fell asleep during his duties. Vincent walked up to the desk and rang the buzzard next to the man. He still didn't wake up.  
  
Instead he mumbled about "damn customers...." In his sleep.  
  
Vincent kept ringing the bell. He was just about to shake the old man awake, when he heard someone coming down from the top of the stairs... the old man awoke to those sounds and rubbed his eyes. It took a while for him to adjust his old eyes so that he could see who was standing in front of the desk... He saw Vincent, and jumped in surprise.  
  
Had he fallen asleep on the job again? Oh no.. Marta was going to scold him fro this. Vincent had a somewhat annoyed look on his face.  
  
The old man sweat dropped. "Sorry there young man... I didn't mean to fall asleep on ya... eh... I'm real sorry if I've inconvenienced you in anyway...."  
  
He paused and whispered to Vincent, "If my Grand daughter comes down and realizes that I've been asleep on the job... she'll yell at me... please.. whatever you do... don't tell on me...." He begged, just as soon as he said those words, a young lady appeared from the stairs.  
  
She was young, maybe 16 Vincent guessed. She was wearing a white bandana, a brown dress, with an apron on. She had clean bed sheets tucked her arms. She came over to the old man and tsked.  
  
"Grandpa.. did you fall asleep again?"  
  
The old man jumped at the sound of her voice and grinned sheepishly.  
  
"No, no Marta... I didn't fall asleep.... " He pointed over at Vincent. "I was helping him!! See!!"  
  
The old man picked up the guestbook and showed it to Marta. She peered at the book and narrowed her eyes....  
  
"I don't see his name anywhere.... The last entry was written three days ago by a Michelle Dupree..." Her brown eyes darted over to Vincent. "Unless she's changed sexes, and had extreme liposuction... I'd say.... No-!"  
  
She plopped the blankets on the desk and placed her hands on her hips.  
  
"Grandpa!! What have I told you about falling asleep on the job before?! You know... it's so hard doing business here without so many people coming to town... we really need the money... and you falling asleep won't help us..."  
  
She picked up the buzzard. "I don't even know why I got this... it's not like you can hear it..."  
  
Her grandfather fell onto his knees and wept openly.  
  
"I'm sooo sorry Marta.... I'm so greatful for you... without you here... I don't know what I'd dooo!! I'm so irresponsible...."  
  
Vincent sighed.... This was going nowhere.. all he wanted was a room to stay in and read his books... but instead all he got was a display of family feud..  
  
Vincent decided to step in. "It's alright... miss... it was my fault...."  
  
The old man looked on with wide eyes. What was this guy doing?  
  
Marta gave Vincent a ridiculous look. "What? You mean it's your fault that Grandpa fell asleep?"  
  
Vincent blinked and nodded.  
  
She snorted and folded her arms across her chest. "Now this I gotta hear!"  
  
The old man jumped up and said, "yeah! Me too!?"  
  
Marta stared her grandfather down. "You pipe down you!"  
  
Grandpa gave her a silly grin and bowed on his hands and knees. "Sorry," he said idiotically.  
  
Vincent paused for a moment.. What do I tell her? She really looks mad....  
  
"Well, you see..."He lied, "I was on my way in.... and.. your grandfather was polite enough to introduce himself to me... It's been quite awhile since I vacationed here.... And I asked your grandfather what I could do.. while I was in town.... And so he did... I had to admit... your grandfather told me a lot about this town.. and I was greatful that he had shared some of his pastimes with me.. so I thought it only fair to return the gesture..." Vincent paused.  
  
Marta stamped her impatiently. "Well-?"  
  
The old man nodded. "Yeah, well?"  
  
Vincent glared at the old man... he moistened his lips and continued... "well, that's what happened.... You see, I was so busy rambling about my life... that your grandfather got bored.. and in his boredom... he fell asleep...."  
  
The old man clapped his hands and jumped onto his feet almost as if striking a pose.  
  
"HAha!! I remember now.... Yes yes.. the story was pretty boring.. as I recalled... you were talking about being a cross dresser, and I thought how disgusting... and then you were talking about all your shows.. and I was like.. NO WAY!! And then I started to get bored when you talked about your strange obsessions... so I turned myself off... and fell asleep..."  
  
Vincent was enraged... how dare he... the old scoundrel.. and here I was trying to help him too... Vincent wanted to strangle him... Me? Cross-dressing? Bah.... Vincent banished the thought away.  
  
Marta narrowed her eyes and peered into her grandpa's face.  
  
"Oh yeah," she said cunningly..." If what you say is true, then why don't you tell me his name?"  
  
Grandfather's confidence was now disheveled. "ey.. his name?"  
  
Marta laughed "Ohhoho... see I knew it!! Liar! You are sooo dead..."  
  
The old man sweated some more. "No no... I remember his name now.."  
  
He looked over at Vincent... "Its... Romiko Takehashi!"  
  
Marta agrued, "That's the name of your favorite manga artist!"  
  
"Panty hose Taro?"  
  
"That's one of her characters!!" "uh.. uh... Ninetails!?"  
  
"Ninetails? Isn't that the name of an animal?"  
  
"uh uh... I know what it is...."  
  
"Then tell me!!"  
  
"it's uh... Rikku?"  
  
"nope".  
  
"Yuna?"  
  
"Nada..."  
  
Marta snickered evilly. "Hah! You see!! You don't know what his name is because... you never spoke to him.. and you never spoke to him... because you were sleeping!!!"  
  
The old man was crying now... Vincent's eyebrow twitched.  
  
"Enough already...., that's not my name at all... It's Vincent... Vincent Valentine..."  
  
The old man danced on his heels happily. "Aha! I knew it all along Marta! I was just joking... You see!!! His name is Hearts!!"  
  
Vincent wanted more than anything to facefault... This is the reason why I don't hang out with people...  
  
"Grandpa.. that's not his name!! he said his name a second ago!!"  
  
"Oh did he?" Grandpa looked confused...  
  
Marta nodded and pointed to the guest book.  
  
"If you know his name then why isn't it in the guestbook?!"  
  
"It is.." Vincent said coolly...  
  
Marta and the old man stopped arguing and turned their heads toward Vincnet.  
  
"It's in there you can check..."  
  
Marta grabs the book off the desk and buries her head in it.  
  
"Nu uh.. I don't see it where can it be-" She stopped when Vincent pointed at his name which was on the end of the page.  
  
"See.. here on this dotted line.... Vincent Valentine..."

While the two were arguing earlier, Vincent had grabbed the guestbook signed it and place it back without them noticing.  
  
The old man blew trumpets and did a jig on the desk. Marta shook her head...  
  
"I-I don't get it... it wasn't here a couple of seconds ago... I could've sworn it was.... "  
  
She scratched her head and shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"Oh what the hell..."  
  
Grandpa was teasing her..  
  
"I told you! I told you!"  
  
She grabbed her sheets and walked towards the other room in a huff. She stop in her tracks and yelled...  
  
"Alright grandpa... you might have won this time... but... if I ever catch you sleeping again... "  
  
She drew a line across her neck with her index finger. Grandpa gulped. Marta winked and exited the room. Vincent sighed. Good now that the drama was over... he wanted a room. The old man laughed... he called Vincent his friend and patted his shoulder.  
  
Grandpa took Vincent up the stairs and into his new room. Grandpa turned on the switch next to the door. It was a nice room. Not too big and not too small. The floors were made out of wood and lacquered over with a thin layer of shellac so that the wood wouldn't splinter.  
  
The walls were bare and painted white. There were four paintings in the room. One hung securely over the bed, two of them were along the wall near Vincent, and the last one hung over the wall opposite of the bed. There were bright yellow curtains which covered the windows. A small blue lamp on top of a brown lamp sat in front of the window. A large red sofa was planted on an angle on the other side of the room. There was a bed in the center of the room. And another door that led to the bathroom.  
  
Since the room only had one bed, Vincent asked if he could get another room for Aeris, the old man said that they were all booked for now, but there was a young couple that was leaving in a couple of days, so check back then. Vincent nodded and put his things on the bed. Before the old man left, he thanked Vincent for helping him and if there was anything he needed to tell him... He also told Vincent that he could stay here for free as long as he liked. Vincent shook his head. He wanted to pay, but the old man refused.  
  
"It's been a while... since someone's been nice to me... Granted my granddaughter always yells at me, because I get us into so much trouble.. I don't mean to....it's just that, I'm getting old, and well,.. I'm not like I used to be... It seems like now a days, all I ever do is fall asleep... "  
  
He sighed wearily. "I only pray that Marta finds someone before I pass away... I'm not going to be here for long... and she has to make do without me... that's why she acts the way she does... you must forgive Marta for her actions...it's a lot for a young girl to take over a family heirloom... this house has been in our family for five generations..."  
  
The old man walked over to the window and looked outside. "It was given to me by my father, and his father before him gave it to him... I gave it to my son... and now that he's gone, it falls onto Marta to take up this tradition..."  
  
Grandpa shook his head wearily. "After her parents and grandmother died... I was the only one she had left... I know she acts like I'm a buffoon, but deep down inside her heart of hearts.... She is such a wonderful person... and I know ... she loves me..."  
  
The old man turned to Vincent. "What about you young man? You're not the same like the others.... Not just anyone would take time out of their day to help out an old fool... where do you come from? Do you have someone special?"  
  
Vincent, shifted to his side, and crosses his arms over his chest. He shrugs his shoulders.  
  
"I don't really have a place to call my own really... I've traveled many places...it's hard for me to stay in one place for a long time...." Unless it's in a coffin, Vincent added silently.  
  
The old man bowed his head slightly. "I see... but... do you have a special someone.. This... Aeirs.. is she your special friend?"  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No, Aeris and I are... friends... just friends...."  
  
Vincent looked away for a brief second and then back.  
  
"The woman I love... she... passed away... a long time ago..."  
  
The old man turned back to the window. "I see... I'm sorry to hear that.... You must've been in love real young...."  
  
Vincent smiled slightly... "I guess you can say that..."  
  
The old man turned away from the window and walked past Vincent towards the door. "Never the less.. as I said earlier, if you need anything... let me know... it's on the house..."  
  
After he left, Vincent unpacked his things.. As he did so, he thought about the old man... and the way he looked. If it weren't for Hojo, I would almost be as old as he is.... Vincent thought as he placed his things on the bed. I just wish.... I wish...  
  
What did he wish for? That he didn't look they way he did? That he switched places with the old man? Is that what he wanted? To grow old with the ones he loves... to live his life like a regular human being instead of some... some phantom?  
  
No, Vincent knew... no matter how normal of a life he wanted, he could never have it... There was so much, that had gone wrong... so much that he did in his life that was unforgivable... Lucrecia had given him forgiveness when she passed on to the lifestream, but what of the others?  
  
Lucrecia was only one of his guilty little sins... there were still a lot more... he couldn't even count them... Vincent sighed... What he wanted? What he really wanted, was penance and forgiveness...  
  
A little voice inside his brain mocked him... You know Valentine... you know what you have to do to truly earn forgiveness and repentance....  
  
You have to die...  
  
Vincent brought his hand up to his head as if silencing the monster from within. Stop.... He thought this is silly.... He walked over the desk and put his things away... As he did so, he thought about Aeris and her adventure in town. Where was she? She should be due about any minute...  
  
He looked outside the window and into the snow filled streets. His face was so close to the glass that his breath fogged up the window. I hope she's alright... and that she's not in any kind of trouble. With that thought, Vincent turned on the light by the window, grabbed one of his books, and sat down on the sofa.

-End


	13. Ordinary world IceInn2

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. Please tell me what you think... I really need the critiques!!!  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
/Ordinay World/ Duran Duran/Dedicated to Aeris/Vincent  
  
Came in from a rainy Thursday  
  
On the avenue  
  
Thought I heard you talking softly  
  
I turned on the lights, the TV  
  
And the radio  
  
Still I can't escape the ghost of you  
  
What has happened to it all?  
  
Crazy, some are saying  
  
Where is the life that I recognize?  
  
Gone away  
  
But I won't cry for yesterday  
  
There's an ordinary world  
  
Somehow I have to find  
  
And as I try to make my way  
  
To the ordinary world  
  
I will learn to survive  
  
Passion or coincidence  
  
Once prompted you to say  
  
"Pride will tear us both apart"  
  
Well now pride's gone out the window  
  
Cross the rooftops  
  
Run away  
  
Left me in the vacuum of my heart  
  
What is happening to me?  
  
Crazy, some'd say  
  
Where is my friend when I need you most?  
  
Gone away  
  
But I won't cry for yesterday  
  
There's an ordinary world  
  
Somehow I have to find  
  
And as I try to make my way  
  
To the ordinary world  
  
I will learn to survive  
  
Papers in the roadside  
  
Tell of suffering and greed  
  
Here today, forgot tomorrow  
  
Ooh, here besides the news  
  
Of holy war and holy need  
  
Ours is just a little sorrow  
  
It's all gone away  
  
And I don't cry for yesterday  
  
There's an ordinary world  
  
Somehow I have to find  
  
And as I try to make my way  
  
To the ordinary world  
  
I will learn to survive  
  
Every one  
  
Is my world, I will learn to survive  
  
Any one  
  
Is my world, I will learn to survive  
  
Any one  
  
Is my world  
  
Every one  
  
Aeris was having so much fun window shopping. She was looking at all the different stores. She didn't really know how different everything was... She was only a baby when she lived here with her parents... What could she remember? Aeris walked around some more. She asked the towns people questions about a Doctor Ghast and his wife Iflana. No one really knew who they were. Everyone she came across shook their heads at her questions. Aeris was a little disappointed. Well, it has been thirty-three years since the whole incident where Hojo killed my father, and took my mother and I away from here...  
  
Aeris thought as she pulled Vincent's cape around her tightly. It was getting late.. Vincent will probably wonder where I am... Aeris thought as she looked around at the people returning to their homes. Her thoughts drifted to Cloud just then. I wonder if he has kids... Aeris didn't want to think about it at all... Her heart sank at the thought that Cloud could be happy living with someone else....  
  
She never really cared about anyone this way... Well, there was Zack, but that was different... he was more like .. an overprotective brother... She liked him.. but not in the way he wanted her to. Aeris thought about Zack and wondered where he was and what he was doing right now... It would be nice to see him again.... She thought about asking Vincent about Zack. He may know something.... Maybe Cloud told him a thing or two about Zack.  
  
As she walked toward the inn, a group of four kids ran by her. They were laughing and playing some kind of game... They were wearing heavy coats and mittens and warm hats. Their faces were red from running. Aeris smiled at the children. She stood by and watched as a little boy got tagged on his back. He stamped his foot angrily, and then walked over to the side of a house and started counting. The other three children giggled and ran away to hide...  
  
Aeris turned away from the happy scene and wished that Cloud was here with her right now... She started for the inn where Vincent was waiting. When she got in, she noticed an old man at the desk, his eyes were drooping heavily. Aeris walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder gently. The old man yelled and hid under the desk. When nothing happened, he stuck his head out from under the desk.  
  
Aeris had her hand over her mouth.. She was giggling. The old man gave her a toothless grin.  
  
"Hey there pretty lady, so... I would love to give you a room, but we're all filled today... I'm so sorry.." He apologized.  
  
Aeris held up her hand, "Oh, no.. you see, I'm with someone already... I think he may have signed in already...."  
  
The old man cocked his head to the side. "HMMMmmm? This man you're with.. does he have red eyes and long black hair and really pale skin?"  
  
Aeris nodded. The old man clapped his hand..  
  
"AHhh... you're talking about my good friend Mister Heart!!" His voice squeaked excitedly.  
  
Aeris gave him a funny look and bursted out with laughter... "Mr. Heart? No, I'm with a guy named Vincent Valentine..."  
  
The old man touched his chin. "Hm... maybe that was his name... oh I don't know.....but that's not important.. what's important is that I take you to your room...."  
  
The old man rubbed his hands together and motioned for Aeris to follow. HE took her up the stairs and to her room.  
  
"I hope you enjoy your stay here miss.... " The innkeeper said with a smile. "You two sure make a loving couple..."  
  
Aeris shook her head. "Oh, no ... we're not together...." The old man look taken aback. "Oh, forgive me for being foolish.... I just merely forgot....he said the same thing... that you two weren't an item... I guess I'm just getting all the facts mixed up in my head... being old an all... "  
  
He shook his index finger playfully at Aeris. "But you young kids don't have to worry about that... you still have the rest of your lives ahead to worry about that kinda stuff..."  
  
Aeris gave him a warm smile. The old man laughed and walked back down the stairs. Aeris shook her pretty head and opened the door. As she entered the room, she noticed Vincent in the corner with a book.  
  
"Good, you're here...." He said without looking up from the book.  
  
Aeris nodded. "Uh huh..."  
  
She shook the snow from Vincent's cape and took the heavy cloak off. She went over to the bathroom and draped the cape over the metal bar of the shower curtain. She sighed.  
  
"Whew." And wiped her brow.  
  
Aeris observed her reflection in the mirror. She looked at the bruise on her chin. She remembered earlier in the ancient city, before they left on the chocobo, she had mentioned about the bruise. Vincent looked almost ashamed. He told her about the struggle in the water and apologized for his action. Of course she forgave him. He did it in order to save her life, and for that she was greatful.  
  
Aeris gently touched the bruise and said a little healing prayer so that it went away. She exited the bathroom and reentered the bedroom. That's when she noticed that there was only one bed in the room.  
  
Aeris shifted around nervously. She didn't think that Vincent was that type of guy... She remembered the old inn keeper saying that all the rooms were filled.... So... that mean that this was probably the only room left... Aeris twiddled her thumbs nervously... so.. how do we do this? She asked herself silently... what of the sleeping arrangements? She'd never shared a bed with a man before... What was she to do?  
  
Before she opened her mouth to ask him about the sleeping arrangements, he spoke.  
  
"You take the bed Aeris... I'll sleep on the couch...."  
  
"oh.." she said..  
  
She lowered her eyes to the floor, it was almost as if he could read her mind....  
  
Vincent continued. "The old man said that they should be receiving some free space soon, so when that happens, I'll leave and give you this room..."  
  
Aeris could feel herself blush. How stupid of her... This was Vincent after all.... He was a gentleman... he was going to sleep on the couch for her sake... and after when they open up more rooms, he would go and leave this room for her.... Aeris almost forgot about the fact that she had no money.. and that it was Vincent who was paying for the whole thing....  
  
Aeris lifted her green eyes from the floor. She scanned Vincent's exterior. He still had his red headband from when they first met. Little pieces of hair stuck out from the cloth. The majority of his hair spilled over his face as he sat there hunched over with his book in hand. He looked thoughtful. His eyes were moving back and forth while he read. Vincent turned the page of his book.  
  
Did he always wear black? She pondered. The whole black attire thing made him look foreboding, he looked so pale... Her eyes rested upon his claw. Hojo did that to him.... She thought and shuddered. She could remember the thin horrible scientist and his horrible laugh. Aside from Sephiroth, Hojo was the only other man that frightened her. Aeris shivered.  
  
"Aeris, "Vincent called her.  
  
She looked at Vincent's face. "huh?"  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
He asked. His eyes never left his book.  
  
"You're shivering..."  
  
Aeris touched her own arm.  
  
"Oh it's nothing.. really... please... don't mind me.. I'll just ... sit on the bed and.... "  
  
She spotted one of his books.  
  
"I'll read this..."  
  
She picked up his book and read the cover.  
  
"The Complete Entire Archive of the Human Body and its Mechanisms...."  
  
Aeris looked a bit dumbfounded. She quietly placed the book down on the bed. She felt like an idiot. But it wasn't like Vincent noticed or anything. He continued to read his book without so much as a blink.  
  
"That one's tough... I've been trying to master it myself, but the language is difficult to translate, from Latin......"  
  
Aeris looked puzzled. "Really? But I just read it...."  
  
"That's only the cover that's English... try opening the book."  
  
Aeris picked up the book again, and opened the pages. The book was written entirely in a different language. She could not make out any letters at all... She bit her lip.. She slowly sat down on the bed. Okay... so she had nothing in common with Vincent.. and now, she's stuck here with him...  
  
Aeris looked around the room. It was hard trying to make pleasantries with someone who didn't want to.... Aeris ran her finger through her hair. Suddenly, a light went off in Aeris's head. She had nothing in common with Vincent at all, but now that they're alone together, she could ask him about stuff... maybe she could find a common ground of some kind... The only thing she knew she had in common with Vincent, was AVALANCHE.  
  
Aeris turned around to face the silent man.  
  
"Vincent... what happened to the rest of the team when I died... "  
  
Vincent looked up from his book. His red eyes narrowed. He sat up and thought about what she asked him.  
  
"Well, after you died, we defeated Sephiroth and meteor...."  
  
Aeris shook her head. "No, I mean, what happened? Did Cloud and the others think about me?"  
  
Vincent lifted his eyebrow. That was a ridiculous question, of course they did.  
  
"Aeris," Vincent closed the book and placed it next to him on the couch. "Of course they did... Cloud blamed himself for your death and they were all saddened by your loss.... For weeks that's all they thought about.... Getting even with Sephiroth... and we did, and we won..."  
  
Aeris didn't know if she was bothering Vincent or not, but at this point, she didn't care... She was lonely and she really wanted someone to talk to, even if it was Vincent.  
  
"Cloud..."Aeris asked, her heart fluttered," What happened with Cloud I mean after everything....."  
  
Vincent sat back into the couch. So this is what she wants.... He exhaled and scratched the back of his head.  
  
"After you died, Cloud found out who he really was... For the longest time, we all thought that he was a clone of Zack, and that he was Sephiroth's puppet... but later on, we found that this wasn't true...."  
  
Aeris sat by patiently with bated breath... Zack... Cloud knew Zack? But he told me that he didn't know anyone of that name.....  
  
Vincent continued," Cloud had been under Jenova's influence the whole time.... Hojo injected him with some of her cells. That's why Cloud couldn't remember anything and that's how Sephiroth was controlling him.... Cloud somehow came into contact with large amounts of Mako.. and he got Mako poison..."  
  
Aeris gasped, but allowed Vincent to continue.  
  
"During the whole time he was ill, Tifa was with him... she helped him pull through Aeris.... She even helped him remember who he was and pieced everything together... After that, we all got together, and went after all the weapons... When Cloud handed the Black Materia to Sephiroth, he unleashed these creatures.... And they were supposed to destroy Sephiroth, but instead, they were going after towns and cities... We had to stop them... One by one, they fell and after they were disposed of, we went to the Northern Cavern, which was where Sephiroth was.... We defeated him.... And your prayers for holy destroyed the meteor...."  
  
Aeris looked down at her feet, there were tears in her eyes. Cloud.... Vincent wasn't done yet...  
  
"After meteor, Cloud tried to find a way to bring you back.... He went to Cosmo Canyon with Red thirteen, and tried to look for answer on how to find the promise land.... He really loved you Aeris.... If he knew you were coming back, he would've waited for you....."  
  
Aeris looked into Vincent's eyes... "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Vincent sighed. "Cloud's been living with Tifa in Kalm. They own a business together.... That's all I know...."  
  
Aeris was a little hopeful. "So ... you don't know if they're married or anything?"  
  
Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry, Aeris, I really have no clue..."  
  
Aeris fell back onto the bed... She stared at the ceiling for a little bit. The tears were falling down the side of her face.  
  
"Vincent.... Did Cloud ever talk to you about Zack and what happened to him?"  
  
Vincent stared at Aeris on the bed. He closed his eyes and answered.  
  
"Yes Aeris... he told me..... "  
  
Aeris reached over and wiped her tears. "What happened to him Vincent...."  
  
He moistened his lips. "Aeris... I don't know, how to tell you this... but Zack died a long time ago.... He and Cloud were escaping from Hojo's lab, and Zack had been shot down by the guards... After that, Cloud pretended to be Zack, he was too sick to be able to tell the difference between reality and non...."  
  
Aeris bit her lip. Poor Zack... He was a good friend after all... He was trying to help Cloud... and he got killed for it... It was just so cruel.. How could this have happened? She thought bitterly.... It was just so wrong... She sniffed.  
  
Vincent continued. He spoke about Red, Barret, Cid, and Yuffie, and how they all went their separate ways after Meteor. And Vincent? What of him? Where did he go after Meteor?  
  
"Vincent? Where did you go after you saved the world...".  
  
Vincent hesitated to tell her at first, he didn't know how she would re- act, but then again, she did just fine when he told her about Cloud.  
  
"I went back to my coffin.... And I stayed there for ten years...."  
  
Aeris wiped off the last of her tears. She furrowed her brows together.  
  
"But Vincent? If you've been locked up for ten years... then how do you know all this stuff about Avalanche?"  
  
He nodded, he knew this was coming.  
  
"Well, I had been planning on visiting everyone just to see how they were doing... I wanted to see your grave and pay my last respects before visiting with Cloud.. but, I found you... and now... we're here..."  
  
Aeris turned over onto her side so that she was facing Vincent. Her hair fell softly around her face, framing it. Aeris looked into his eyes. There was a slight hint of sadness in his eyes, almost as if he knew that he hurt her, by telling her the truth.  
  
"Thankyou... Vincent.... Thankyou... for your honesty.. and for your help.... I know you never asked for this... but I wanted to thankyou...." Aeris sighed heavily.  
  
Vincent closed his eyes, and bowed his head slightly. "You're welcome Aeris...."  
  
Aeris sighed and closed her eyes. She was taking everything in... Cloud, Zack, Avalanche... she was trying to think about how things would've been different if she'd come back a little sooner.... She would've been with Cloud... She knew that for sure... Aeris thought about Vincent, and his coffin... How can anyone will themselves to stay in something like that for years? Vincent was really strange....  
  
Aeris really wanted to speak to her mother, and find out what she was suppose to do with Vincent, and if it was really important to stay away from Cloud and Avalanche... With those thoughts, she drifted to sleep.  
  
She was glad to have someone familiar here with her.... Even if it was Vincent.... Was it ungrateful for her to think like that? Maybe... she didn't know... she was asleep.  
  
After Aeris fell asleep, Vincent walked over to the light switch and turned if off. He went over to the bed and pulled the covers over Aeris. He walked over to the small lamp and turned it off. Vincent took off his boots and sat them near the desk. He layed down on the sofa.  
  
At least it was comfortable. Usually he slept without his shirt on, but he didn't think that Aeris would appreciate having a half naked man around the room, so he left his shirt alone. He thought about Aeris and her reaction to what he said. She had been trying to make some conversation with him. He could tell by the eagerness in her eyes. She was lonely, and she really wanted someone to talk to.  
  
He wished he could've been a little more talkative for her sake. He felt sorry for her ... She had lost most of the people she cared for....  
  
She was just like him in a way....  
  
They were both alone in the world.....

-End-


	14. Shopping for Aeris

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. Please tell me what you think... I really need the critiques!!! I know, I know, Aeris is always talking about cloud, but these are her thoughts, I mean, what would you do if you were in her shoes? If you don't like cloud, then replace him with someone like, Vincent, or sephiroth.... Wouldn't you think about them all the time? Lol no flames again....!! Aeris is singing a song that will be in the next chapter... so.. I can't give you the lyrics yet... but you can go ahead and play the song if you can find it... it's called "When she loved me..." By Sarah Mclaughlin  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
The following day, Aeris woke up to find Vincent gone. She rubbed her eyes. There were covers over her. She got out of bed and realized that she still had her boots on... How disgusting... wearing boots to bed... She remembered the first time Cloud had gone to her house... he was sleeping in her bed with his shoes on.... She had teased him about that.... Now, she was the one doing it. Aeris blushed at this memory. Cloud... I miss you so much...  
  
Aeris thought about what Vincent said last night. The whole world had moved on... and she was the one out of place.... Why had she been sent back? What was so important that she had to be sent back ten years later? Why didn't the Cetra send her back after meteor? But Aeris knew that things never worked that way, she couldn't change the past, no matter how hard she tried. But maybe there's a chance... that Cloud.. that he had waited... I mean, he did try to find a way to bring her back didn't he? Well, what if this was it?  
  
Aeris knew that she was only fooling herself, but she couldn't stop thinking about Cloud and Sephiroth and Meteor. If Sephiroth hadn't killed her... she would be with Cloud... that was the simple truth.. but now what? What was she to do if Cloud was with Tifa? She couldn't imagine herself being with anyone other than the spikey blond boy she had grown to love.  
  
She kept replaying the memories of her and Cloud in her mind like a reel... She remembered when they went on the rides together at the gold saucer. She had told Cloud that she wanted to "meet" him.... She was pretty sure he knew what it meant... and she laughed, when she thought about the look he had given her. He was surprised that she would say something like that... but it was true.... Aeris would have given herself to Cloud if he wanted her... She loved him that much....  
  
Aeris crept out of bed and stretched. As she did so, she noticed a piece of paper fall on the floor. Aeris picked it up and sees her name on it. She shrugs it's probably from Vincent, telling her that he's in town running errands or something.... Aeris tossed the note on the bed. She headed towards the bathroom. Well, since Vincent wasn't here, she might as well help herself to a nice hot shower.  
  
When she opened the door, she felt warm hot steam go through her body. It was hot in the bathroom, and it was so foggy, she couldn't see anything..  
  
"What's going on here?" Aeris grumbled to herself.  
  
Did one of the pipes leak or something? Maybe Vincent forgot to turn off the water, although she couldn't believe that he would do something so careless. Aeris stepped through the doorway and turned beet red. It wasn't that Vincent forgot to turn off the water, he was still in the shower..  
  
The opaque shower curtains did little to hide his figure. He was completely in the buff!!! His hair was wet, and he didn't have his head band on, he was so in the nude!!  
  
Vincent's red eyes trailed to the door where Aeris stood.  
  
"Aeris..." He called her name.  
  
Aeris was so ashamed and embarrassed.  
  
"Vincent! I'm –I'm so sorry!!!"  
  
She shouted as she ran out of the room covering her eyes. Her heart was beating so fast. What they hell was she thinking? Aeris Gainsborough, how could you!? She scolded herself... now Vincent's going to think she's a pervert or something.  
  
Aeris still had her hands over her eyes.  
  
Vincent called out her name again. "Aeris...."  
  
Aeris quickly responded. "Don't worry Vincent!! I –I swear.. I didn't see anything... I mean.. I mean... "  
  
Vincent sighed, "Aeris, could you please close the door...."  
  
Aeris felt like throwing herself out of a window about now. She had bee so preoccupied with her on stupidity, that she forgot to close the door. She tried to reach for the door without looking inside. After a few seconds, she grabbed the handle of the door and slammed it shut behind her.  
  
Aeris sighed and leaned her back against the door. She slowly dropped to the floor. Oh, god... Vincent's not going to forgive me.... He probably hates me ... she pulled at her hair. What am I going to do?  
  
Her eyes darted around the room wildly. Maybe I should hide? Should I be here when he comes out? What if he yells at me? She got up from the floor and paced around the room trying to come up with an excuse... Aeris stopped in her tracks when she thought of one.  
  
When the door to the bathroom opened, Aeris stormed over to Vincent and cried,  
  
"Why didn't you lock the door Vincent? I mean if you're going to take a shower, then you should at least lock it, so that I don't come in and... see.. you..." She sputtered.  
  
Vincent had a white towel over his shoulders, he was drying his hair with it. He was wearing a black button down shirt, and black slacks. He was in his barefeet.  
  
"I'm sorry, Aeris, I would've locked it, if the lock worked, I left this note for you by the bed, telling you that I was going to use the shower, so that this wouldn't happen."  
  
Aeris smacked her head... so that was what the note said..... she felt like dying now.  
  
"Vincent, you have to believe me.. I really didn't mean to do it intentionally, I mean if I knew you were in there... I really wouldn't have gone in... I swear... I'm really not a pervert!! I don't want to see you naked!!!"  
  
Vincent gave her a funny look. Aeris threw up her hands.  
  
"I mean.. that's not what I mean.. I mean.. I don't don't want to look at your body, it's just that... I shouldn't be.... Oh god... Forgive me..."  
  
Aeris looked down at her feet. No matter how she tried to apologize, she felt like she was digging herself into a deeper hole. Vincent walked by her,  
  
"I guess you didn't get the note.... Maybe I should have put one by the door instead. I'm sorry...." He apologized and went over to his boots.  
  
Aeris stared at his back. Vincent.... I ... she wanted to tell him not to apologize, that it was all her fault for not reading the note. Vincent had took the blame... He saved her from embarrassment... she wrapped a strand of hair around her finger twirling it nervously. Vincent was putting his boots on.  
  
"You should get ready. There are some clean towels hanging up on a bar by the sink," He told her. "I'll wait out here for you..."  
  
Aeris nodded and hurried into the bathroom. After taking a nice warm shower, she came out fresh and clean. She had her hair wrapped up in a white towel. Vincent was standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back. His hair was dry by then, and he had his headband on again. Aeris unwrapped her hair out of the towel. She was trying to dry her hair when Vincent asked her if she was ready. Aeris said yes. She was curious as to where they were going to head next.  
  
"Vincent, where are we going?"  
  
Vincent turned to face her. "We're going to get you some clothes..." He said impassively.  
  
Her eyes bulged. Didn't he remember? She was the girl that walked in on him this morning... instead of yelling or scolding at her, he was going to take her out and treat her?! Aeris didn't understand Vincent's logic at all.  
  
"Vincent, why are you being so nice to me?" She asked him.  
  
Vincent walked towards her with his cape in hand.  
  
"well, we can't have you walking around town in the clothes you wearing...Those clothes aren't going to cut it out here. You need heavier clothes, like an over coat of somekind... to keep you warm, because you can't always be wearing my things... Not to mention, those are the same clothes you died in... "  
  
Aeris shuddered. In a creepy way, he was right.  
  
"yeah, I guess..."  
  
She took the cloak from him. She followed him downstairs. The old man greeted them with a huge smile.  
  
"Ah!! Hearts my boy!!"  
  
"It's Vincent, " He growled at grandpa.  
  
Aeris had to stifle her laughter. The old man came between Vincent and Aeris.  
  
"So, what do the lovely couple have planned on their agenda today? Maybe some skiing? Ooh! Or snowboarding... that's a cool thing for you youngsters to do right?"  
  
Aeris was glad to have some one cheerful to talk to. She was still uncomfortable around Vincent, but not so much any more. Aeris faced the old man.  
  
"Uh.. we're not a couple..." She reminded him.  
  
The old man's eyes grew. "What?! Oh.... I'm soo sorry..!!"  
  
He peered at Vincent. "I know that Hearts, here isn't a talker... but he's not such a bad guy, once you get use to him."  
  
Aeris giggles. The old man was speaking as if he knew Vincent. He turned to Vincent.  
  
"You're lucky!! You should go out with this precious flower before someone picks her up!!"  
  
Vincent crosses his arms stubbornly.  
  
"C'mon, Aeris, we should get going..."  
  
Aeris looked back at the old man and smiled at him kindly.  
  
"Well, it was nice talking to you.... Eh.."  
  
"Oh, everyone calls me Grandpa over here... I suggest you do the same...." He laughed.  
  
Aeris had to admit, the old man really brightened her day. She waved back to the old man as they headed towards the shops. Vincent could care less about shopping... Actually, he hated it, but Aeris really needed to get new clothes.. He couldn't stand to see her in that pink dress. Seeing her like that made him think about Sephiroth.....  
  
Aeris seemed to be enjoying herself. They had been going around town tying to look for clothes that would fit Aeris. The first one they went in, had frilly dresses. Aeris wanted to try one on just for kicks. Vincent refused to sit still and wait for her to try on those ridiculous dresses. Aeris begged him to wait. After she was done, she came out of her stall showing off her dress. It was a long, white, slip on dress. It showed off her curves. Aeris struck a pose. Vincent rolled his eyes and looked away. God he hated this... but he had to admit, Aeris did look... nice....  
  
When they were done with that store, they went on to the next. And so it went on like this for hours, until they were done. Vincent was tired and exhausted from going store to store. True, he knew what to expect when he told Aeris that they were going to shop... but he didn't think it was this much trouble... If he'd known it was going to be like this, he would've just given Aeris some money, and let her go off on her own.  
  
Aeris was beaming with happiness. She had clothes now... real clothes!! Vincent had gotten her three sweaters, two coats, two pairs of boots, five pairs of socks, four pairs of pants, an ear muff, two pairs of gloves, three skirts and five different shirts. Vincent got her some hair bows and a bag just like his, even though it was pink. He even got her a nice dress. It was blue. He'd also gotten her pajamas and other womanly accessories... Vincent refused to go into a woman's lingerie store, so Aeris went in by herself.  
  
After they were through, they had several boxes and bags to carry home with them. They made it back to the inn. They ran into the old man who jumped in delight at their return. He ran towards Vincent with open arms screaming  
  
"Hearts my boy!"  
  
Vincent quickly dodged and the man went sailing by. Aeris looked on with concern, but Vincent quickly ushered her up the stairs. They had made it back. Vincent felt like collapsing on the couch.  
  
Aeris clapped her hands and giggled in delight.  
  
"Vincent... why does he call you Hearts?"  
  
Vincent sighed.  
  
"I don't know Aeris.... I'm tired...."  
  
Aeris shrugged her shoulders. She was defiantly in a better mood now. She had to thank Vincent for his generosity.. yet she had to wonder... how could he afford all of this? Vincent even said himself that he'd been locked away in the coffin... so .. how did he make money?  
  
"Vincent?"  
  
He had his hand over his forehead.  
  
"yes?"  
  
Aeris was on the bed, opening her boxes and looking at her things.  
  
"How can you afford all of this?"  
  
Vincent was massaging his temples.  
  
"Don't worry about that Aeris..."  
  
Still she was curious, so she pushed on.  
  
"But Vincent.. you said that you've been locked up in a coffin for ten years... how could you make any money?"  
  
Vincent shut his eyes. He just wanted to be left alone ... his temples were throbbing from all the shopping...  
  
"I have money Aeris... I have it saved up from when I worked as a Turk...."  
  
Aeris looked at him curiously.. "What do you mean Vincent?"  
  
Vincent looked annoyed his red eyes flaring.  
  
"Aeris, "He said almost raising his tone. "Do you know how much a head's worth?"  
  
Aeris was taken back by his sudden hostility. She shook her head no.  
  
"IT's a lot.. believe me... I've killed so many people, that I became wealthy because of it... so ... that's how... I can buy you pretty things it's because of that... it's blood money..."  
  
Aeris bit her lip and swallowed. She looked at her sweaters and shirts and bows. They were all nice, but after Vincent said those things... she didn't want them at all... Maybe she shouldn't have asked... but... she was curious... Curiosity killed the cat, a little voice taunted her. Aeirs felt like crying... Vincent had yelled at her... She didn't deserve it, she was just trying to talk to him... he seemed so pleasant this afternoon, why the sudden change? She closed her boxes and put them away in a corner.  
  
She looked over at Vincent, he looked like he was having a headache. He was taking off his head band. When he did so, his hair fell over his eyes. HE had a lot of hair. His face looked small and pinched. She looked down at her feet, and then up again.  
  
"Vincent... are you feeling well?"  
  
He shifted his body so that he was laying on the couch.  
  
"Aeris.... " He whispers her name, "I'm sorry... I just need some time by myself...."  
  
Aeris nodded. If he's got a headache, he should really be lying in bed.... He could be sick...Aeris got up from the bed and walked over to Vincent. She knelt down on her knees.  
  
"Vincent.. you should really sleep in the bed... I mean if you have a headache... you should...It'll probably make you feel a lot better."  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No... It's alright... it's just a little migraine.. it'll go away...."  
  
Aeris didn't think that shopping would over exert the dark man... She had a funny thought, and it almost wanted to make her laugh, despite Vincent's unfriendly disposure. He was an ex-Turk, and he fought Sephiroth, that didn't bother him... yet going shopping with her gave him migraines? She tried to make him go to her bed, he protested, but when he realized that she wasn't going to give up, he finally acquiesced and went to her bed.  
  
As he lied there, he could smell Aeris in the covers. She smelled like... flowers... lilacs... Her fragrance didn't bother him... he actually didn't mind it... Vincent kept his hand on his forehead. It was a little hot, probably from the shopping extravaganza they went on this afternoon. He could see Aeris over by the window. Vincent examined her. He could tell, that she was pretty. Very pretty.. but he wasn't interested in her like that... The last thing he needed in his life, was to get another person involved in his accursed life.... He really didn't want to drag anyone through his mess.. least of all Aeris. She had been through enough already... Aeris placed her hand on the window and sighed. It sounded heartbreaking... but Vincent ignored it.... His head was driving him insane.... He didn't get it... he'd never had a head ache this bad... maybe he should have stayed in his coffin... then maybe this wouldn't have happened.... Vincent knew it was a fools wish and he rarely ever made any, except for when it came to Lucrecia and his past.  
  
Aeris looked over at him concerned. She walked over the bed and sat down on it. She placed her hand on his forehead, he let her. His head felt warm. She smiled down at him.  
  
"I think you have a slight fever, Mr. Hearts...."  
  
Vincent looked into her eyes wearily...  
  
"Not you too..?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Don't worry, it'll go away in the morning.... It serves you right for not wearing your coat...." She chided.  
  
His head rolled over to the side, on the pillow.  
  
"Well, what was I suppose to do? Let you freeze to death while we walked around town?"  
  
She brushed back his stranded locks gently.  
  
"It's ok Vincent, you just need a good nights sleep, and you wont get it on that couch...."  
  
He tried to lift himself out of the bed, but Aeris held him back.  
  
"But Aeris, where will you sleep... " She just smiled prettily and said. "Don't worry about me, Vincent, I'll be fine.. you just rest..."  
  
He sighed heavily and fell back into the softness of the bed. He closed his eyes. He could hear Aeris moving about the room. She was humming something... probably a lullaby of some sort. It sounded real nice. He felt her put something cold and wet on his forehead.  
  
Then he heard her casting a spell and ...  
  
Nothing...  
  
He was enveloped in a world of darkness....

-End-


	15. When she loved me

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. Please tell me what you think... I really need the critiques!!! You can grab tissues if you want... this is so sad.... This is a song fic dedicated to Vincent. Aeris is shumming the song..... but Vincent doesn't know Aeris is humming it. Vincent is actually dreaming all of this... this is really short..

/  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/When she loved me/Sarah Mclaughlin/

/  
  
when somebody loved me  
  
_**Vincent is walking with Lucrecia outside in the Shin-Ra Gardens. They are laughing. Vincent is so happy. As he stares at her.  
**_  
everything was beautiful  
  
**_You see them coming out of a restaurant. Lucrecia is cold_**  
  
every hour spent together  
  
**_Vincent gives her his jacket. She smiles warmly  
_**  
lives within my heart  
  
**_They're at Lucrecia's apt watching a movie._**  
  
and when she was sad  
  
**_She is crying._**  
  
I was there to dry her tears  
  
**_Vincent gives her a tissue and holds her._**  
  
And when she was happy  
  
**_She snuggles in his embrace.  
_**  
So was I  
  
**_He smiles kindly. He kisses the top of her head._**  
  
When she loved me  
  
_**He plays the piano for her. She is looking at him touched.  
**_  
Through the summer and the fall  
  
_**He shows up at her work, with flowers. Lucrecia is sohappy, and she blushes. Young Hojo is in the back giving Vincent cold stares. Vincent walks Luca out arm in arm. They are at a picnic watching the sun go down.  
**_  
we had each other that was all  
  
_**It's snowing in Midgar, they're at Lucrecia's house handing each other gifts.  
**_  
just she and I together  
  
**_They open them, and Lucrecia has a gold bracelet in her hand._**  
  
like it was meant to be  
  
**_Vincent has a horribly knit sweater with his name on it  
_**  
and when she was lonely  
  
**_Lucrecia is embarrassed.  
_**  
I was there to comfort her  
  
**_Vincent smiles anyways, and puts it on, backwards. Lucrecia embarrassedly turns it around._**  
  
and I knew that she loved me  
  
**_They laugh._**  
  
so the years went by  
  
I stayed the same  
_**3 Years pass. Vincent shows up at Luca's job with flowers**_  
  
but she began to drift away  
  
_**Lucrecia isn't there. There's a note. Busy with work. Vincent looks sad. He tries to go to her house. She isn't there.**_  
  
I was left alone  
  
_**He sighs, and walks back home.  
**_  
still I waited for the day  
  
**_Next, he goes to her job. he sees Luca with Hojo laughing.  
_**  
when she'd say  
  
_**Vincent has flowers in his hands.**  
_  
"I will always love you"  
  
**_Vincent walks away depressed.   
_**  
Lonely and forgotten  
  
_**As he's walking seasons change and pass. Vincent is playing piano by himself thinking about Luca. He's older. He has a headband.  
**_  
never thought she'd look my way  
  
_**Later Vincent is at the Shin-Ra mansion. He had just been reassigned. He sees Lucrecia.  
**_  
she smiled at me and held me  
  
**_She waves. Vincent's heart jumps._**  
  
just like she use to do  
  
_**She grabs his arm. They walk into the mansion together. Vincent's so happy. They talk about things that they did.  
**_  
like she loved me  
  
**_Luca tells him about the new Jenova project._**  
  
when she loved me  
  
_**Vincent is happy for her. Next, they're doing all the things they did before They going on picnics.  
**_  
When somebody loved me  
  
**_Going to nearby taverns  
_**  
everything was beautiful  
  
**_Vincent plays the piano for Lucrecia. She is looking at him happily.  
_**  
every hour spent together  
  
**_She touches his headband.  
_**  
lives winthin my heart  
  
_**He smiles at her lovingly.  
**_  
when she loved me  
  
_**A young Hojo is looking at them with envy. His eyes are red with fury**_

-End-


	16. Monster I've become

( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. Please tell me what you think... I really need the critiques!!! This song is by Penance, this song is dedicated to Vincent, thinking about Hojo...  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/  
  
/Monster I've become/Penance/  
  
[Music: Weston/Smail]  
  
[Lyrics: Smail/Weston]  
  
From the inside looking out  
  
Distorts what I'm about  
  
Strains from emptiness  
  
Change to bitterness  
  
You have turned me  
  
To what you thought I was  
  
I don't care now  
  
The past is now the past  
  
The scars inside don't heal  
  
The pain no more can I feel  
  
I'm callous, alone, but unafraid  
  
For better or worse I've changed  
  
Product of what you've taught  
  
You'll feel the things you thought  
  
The path I now lead  
  
Is wrath along with greed  
  
Represent what I resent  
  
You are all that I despise  
  
Feeding from what I've become  
  
Can't stop even if I tried  
  
Glory bound or the fool crown  
  
It's all just the same  
  
I thank you now you showed me how  
  
You've made my name  
/

/  
Vincent woke up the next morning. Was he dreaming about Lucrecia again? Well, that really didn't matter now... The sun is shinning brightly and light is pouring in from the window. He touches his temple gingerly. His headache's gone. He slowly sits up on the bed. He notices that Aeris is not in the room.  
  
"Aeris?"  
  
Vincent calls for her. No answer. Her boxes were still on the floor neatly stacked in a corner. That's funny, Vincent thought while brushing his hair back. It's as if she hadn't opened them. He swings his feet off the bed, and walks over to the bathroom. He knocks on the door just to make sure there isn't a repeat of last time. When no one answered, he opened the door and walked in. he turned the lightswitch on and walked over to the mirror. Vincent turns on the faucet and splashes water onto his pale skin. He grabs his towel and wipes of the water. He hangs the towel up and retreats to the other room, turning the light off as he exits.  
  
Vincent quickly gets dressed and heads downstairs. He was curious as to where Aeris went after he fell asleep. He felt horrible about making her sleep on the couch. But it was her idea, and she wouldn't leave him alone until he said yes. He hoped that she slept alright. As he climbed down the stairs, Vincent realized that he didn't have to look for Aeris any further. She had been downstairs chatting with the old man the whole time.  
  
Aeris lifted her green eyes to greet him when she saw him come down. Much to Vincent's dismay, she was still in that pink dress. He made a mental note to point that out to her later. Aeris smiled at him.  
  
"Hello Vincent... how are you feeling today?"  
  
Vincent blinked.  
  
"Better... thank you..."  
  
The old man, aka Grandpa gave him an ill look.  
  
"What's this Hearts? You're sick!?"  
  
Aeris giggled. "No, silly! He just had a little fever last night that's all..."  
  
Vincent nodded.  
  
"Yes, and I'm much better thanks to you Aeris.."  
  
He reached the first floor and walked over to Aeris. She beamed at him and folded her hands together.  
  
"I'm glad Vincent.... I'm so glad that I did something nice for you .... I've been meaning to thank you for all that you've done for me... It's very kind of you...."  
  
Vincent felt awkward one could say that he was even a little embarrassed by her comment. Aeris could've sworn she saw a tint of red on his pale cheeks when he turned his head away from her. He closed his eyes and scratched his head.  
  
"It's alright Aeris... don't mention it..."  
  
Aeris had a knowing little smile on her face and she turned away from Vincent and back to the old man. He had his grey head perched on his hands staring at Aeris and Vincent.  
  
"Ah... young love...." He said with a dreamy look.  
  
Aeris stifled her laughter. Vincent cleared his throat roughly, and gave the old man a cold stare.  
  
"Whatever.... "  
  
Aeris shook her head...  
  
"You know... "She said pointing her finger at Grandpa. "You need to stop with all that nonsense... Vincent and I aren't dating or anything... we're just ...traveling partners...."  
  
The old man agreed with her sarcastically, "Sure, that's what all couples say, when they don't want to admit to themselves that they're in love...."  
  
Vincent turned around heading for the stairs. Aeris stopped him.  
  
"Wait! Vincent!!" She called out to him her arm outstretched.  
  
He stopped briefly tilting his head slightly.  
  
"What is it?" He asked dryly.  
  
Aeris continued, "You have to see my new room!!"  
  
Vincent arched his eyebrow inquisitively.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Aeris nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I got a new room... Earlier today when I came down, Grandpa told me that the couple that was staying in room 14B had an argument, so they left earlier than expected.... He gave me the key already... and... it's such a nice room..."  
  
Vincent turned around and looked at her. She was really happy about her new room. Was he so bad that she'd wanted to leave in such a hurry. Not that it bothered him or anything, but he was concerned about his actions. He recalled last nights events and what he said to her. True, he had been sick, but he remembered raising his voice at her... instead of yelling back at him, Aeris offered him her bed.... And she even healed him....  
  
He could see the happiness in her eyes when she was talking to the old man. She was lonely. She just wanted to talk to someone.... And Vincent? Vincent scolded himself for being so inattentive to her needs. No wonder she's in such a hurry to get away from him.  
  
Vincent closed his eyes, and thought about what he would say to her when they were alone... He would apologize to her about his rude behavior... Before he opened his eyes, he felt a tug on his arm. He opened his eyes and saw that he was being pulled towards the stairs.  
  
Grandpa waved at the two friends. "You guys take it easy ya hear!?"  
  
Aeris dragged Vincent up the stairs. When she got to the room, she opened the door with her key. As they entered, Vincent noticed that the room was annoyingly pink. The walls were painted pink, the floors had pink carpets, the bedsheets were pink and the window curtains were pink. Vincent was the only dark thing that was out of place here. There was a brown near the wall next to the bed. A little pink lamp sat on top of it. A wooden rocker sat at an angle in the far corner of the room, next to the window. There was a wardrobe with a mirror in it. There was a white coat hanger next to the door where they stood. The bathroom was near the coat hanger.  
  
Aeris ran in and jumped on the bed. Her feet barely touched the floor. "Isn't this great?"  
  
Vincent grabbed at his claw looking indifferent. "It's alright..."  
  
Aeris looked at him thoughtfully.  
  
"Yeah, I kinda imagined that's what you'd say... You know... it's a good thing I'm moving in here because, I don't think you'd enjoy yourself in here...."  
  
Vincent shook his shoulders.  
  
"A room's a room... I don't really care about appearances, all I care about is whether I have a roof over my head or not."  
  
Aeris scanned her eyes over the room.  
  
"Well, none the less, I think that this room suits me just fine...."  
  
Vincent thought that this would be a good time to tell Aeris that he was sorry for his behavior last night.  
  
He cleared his throat and shifted his weight.  
  
"Aeris..."  
  
"Hmm.." She piqued. Her green eyes focused on him.  
  
"I'm sorry for my behavior last night.... When you asked me about... how I obtained enough earnings to pay for your clothes... I got a little cross with you... I'm sorry .."  
  
Aeris lowered her eyes down to the floor and back at him.  
  
"Oh... That's ok Vincent...." She said looking him in his ruby eyes. "You were sick... and... I was so oblivious to that... I just kept bothering you... I'm sorry for being so troublesome...."  
  
Vincent's eyes scanned over Aeris's face. Her eyes were bright and green. Her lips were pink and her skin, just a touch of pink. Thick eyelashes framed her lemon shaped eyes, and her long wavy tresses fell loosely around her face and her lithe form. Yes.. Vincent could see how Cloud could be taken by Aeris. The pink dress she had on had a little rip in it where Sephiroth stabbed her with his blade.  
  
Vincent couldn't stand to look at it. He narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Aeris, why aren't you wearing the clothes we bought yesterday?"  
  
She turned her head away sheepishly under the scrutiny of his ruby eyes.  
  
"Oooh... I..." She clumsily fingered her brown hair. "Well, I guess... when you said... what you said...I mean you made it sound so bad.. that you were angry with me... I guess I thought I offended you in some way...I just felt bad, and thought that you might've wanted to take the clothes back."  
  
She was nervous... there she said it.. she told him the truth. Her green eyes darted over to his face to see his reaction. Vincent had his eyes glued to the floor. He seemed to be thinking about what to say to her.  
  
Vincent shook his head at what she said. I guess I must have been horrible to her last night. Vincent wanted to slap himself for being so heartless.  
  
"Aeris... I'm sorry, I'm the one who've offended you.... I didn't mean to.. it's just that... it's been so long since I've had a.. companion.... After meteor... I didn't stick around because I didn't think anyone wanted me... and besides, no one truly understood what I was going through... so I just hid away in my coffin... I guess I forgot how to be human...."  
  
He said that last part with a wistful smile. When he looked back into her face, he saw that she had tears brimming in the corner of her eyes. Are those tears for me? He thought. He shifted his feet awkwardly. Vincent really felt bad now. First Marlene, and now Aeris..  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry..."  
  
Aeris wiped away her tears with the back of her hands.  
  
"No, Vincent, it's not that at all... " She looked at him hurt. "Why would you think that we wouldn't want you around? Avalanche really cared about you... You shouldn't assume that just because you don't get along with the others as well as I do, that they don't want you around... We all care about you... Even Barret... and Cid in his own way...That was really selfish of you on your behalf to decide that for everyone..."  
  
Vincent was touched by the sincerity of her words. Why did they effect him so? Aeris sniffed and wiped away the last of her tears. Vincent was looking nonchalantly as ever... probably thinking about what she said. What Aeris said next really surprised him.  
  
"Vincent.... Who's Lucrecia?"  
  
Vincent froze. How did she know about Lucrecia? He hadn't said anything to her about his past... so, how did she know?  
  
"Aeris, " He asked his voice shook a little... "How do you know that name?"  
  
Aeris furrowed her brows together.  
  
"Vincent... you said her name in your sleep..."  
  
He was talking in his sleep? That was ludicrous.. He would never do anything like that.... But then, how else could she have found out about Lucrecia.  
  
"Are you sure you didn't meet her somewhere.. in the afterlife or anything? Maybe that's where you heard her name... or maybe Cloud or Nanaki told you?"  
  
She shook her head prettily.  
  
"No, Vincent, I heard you saying Lucrecia's name last night... and then you were talking about being alone...."  
  
That was too much for him. Vincent ran his fingers through his hair.  
  
"I don't know Aeris.. I don't know why I did that... I've never done anything like that in my entire life... I didn't wake you did I?"  
  
Aeris shook her head.  
  
"No... not at all, I couldn't go to sleep anyways... I was just worried about you I guess..."  
  
Vincent nodded. Aeris rubbed her arms. Was it a little chilly in here?  
  
"Vincent... was Lucrecia the name of someone you love?"  
  
Vincent nodded.  
  
"Yes...it was... a long time ago... She was a lot like you actually..."  
  
Aeris raised her brows.  
  
"ME?"  
  
Vincent closed his eyes.  
  
"Yes... she was.. she was young, and beautiful.. and so full of life..."  
  
Aeris bit her lip.  
  
"Well, what happened to her?"  
  
Vincent sighed. And opened his eyes.  
  
"Hojo destroyed her.... That's what happened..... you know.. she was Sephiroth's mother...."  
  
Aeris jumped at the thought.  
  
"Wait a minute? How can that be? I thought that his mother was Jenova?"  
  
Vincent shook his head.  
  
"No, that's not true... He had been injected with a large quantity of her cells... He thought that he was her son.... But he was more of a lab rat.. an expirament... Lucrecia volunteered herself to be a test subject.... And.. no matter how I tried.. I couldn't stop her from doing the inevitable.... When I confronted Hojo about this.. he killed me.... "  
  
Aeris's lips parted in horror. She had her hands over her chest.  
  
"How awful...."  
  
Vincent continued.  
  
"I thought I was dead, and half expected to see myself floating up towards the life-stream, but your father, Lucrecia, and Hojo, brought me back.. Hojo made me what I am today.. but they helped the process."  
  
He said, he hung his claw back, as if he didn't want anyone to see it.  
  
Aeris shook her head.  
  
"No, my father would never.... It's just not possible that he would do something like that...."  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No, it's possible Aeris.. I was there, I heard everything and felt every cut they made... they thought that I was comatose... but I wasn't... I was still awake when they replaced the outside of my skin with this metal...."  
  
Aeris brought her hands up to her face. Could my father really be so cruel? As if reading her mind, Vincent answered.  
  
"I think that Ghast really wanted to save my life, along with Lucrecia... As I said, Hojo was the mastermind behind the whole thing.... Back then, I was the president's personal guard.. almost his right hand man... if they knew that I had been killed, he probably would've closed down the project..."  
  
Aeris understood now. Her father was trying to help Vincent.. It sounded like it was around the same time he met her mother Iflana. Dad was probably trying to protect himself and mom... that still didn't give him the right to do what he did to Vincent.  
  
"I see now Vincent..." She shook her head sadly. "That's so horrible Vincent.... I don't know what to say... I just can't believe it... all the pain.. all the sorrow.. I apologize for my father's part in your whole ordeal... I didn't think that he could be capable of anything like that... but, I guess you never really know a person as well as you think..."  
  
Vincent knew what she was implying, her father was a bad man, which wasn't true.  
  
"No, Aeris, I see where you're coming from... your father was trying to protect himself and your mother... he wasn't doing this out of hate or contempt. Your father was the one that surgically removed the bullet from my head... he stopped the bleeding and saved my life... Hojo was the one that gave me my claw and my transformations..."  
  
Vincent's transformations.. she'd forgotten about them. "What happeneds when you transform Vincent.. I mean.. are you still you? Where do you go?" Vincent knew this was coming. He closed his eyes. "It's difficult to explain.. when I transform... I am both... I'm still myself... but it depends on which creature I transform into... Some of them are hard to control.....At first it was hard for me to control any of them. The creatures emerged whenever they pleased... Hojo and the rest of the scientists locked me up in a cell so that I wouldn't hurt anyone... but after awhile, I got used to my new powers... and I could control them better...."  
  
Aeris piped up.  
  
"It must have been hard being by yourself in a cell all alone..."  
  
Vincent shook his head again.  
  
"Not really, at the time, I was drifting in and out of reality, it was hard for me to tell my surroundings... I just wanted to die, because I was in so much pain, and I was delirious.. , but I guess after awhile, I got used to that as well....."  
  
Aeris drew her knees up protectively.  
  
"Oh Vincent...."  
  
Vincent lowered his eyes to the floor.  
  
"No, believe me when I say this Aeris... I deserve it... I've committed so many atrocities in my life....It would take years for me to compensate for them."  
  
Aeris felt horrible for Vincent, how could she sit here and think her life was horrible, granted, she had been robbed out of having a wonderful life with Cloud.. but what of Vincent? He had everything taken away from him... and now.. he was like her... alone.. in a world that's moved on without them..... Aeris was getting ready to say something, but Vincent spoke first.  
  
"Aeris, I'm sorry, for dumping all my troubles and problems on you... you shouldn't have to listen to me.. I'll just go.. "  
  
Aeris jumped up from the bed.  
  
"No, Vincent, really, it's ok... I don't mind.. I mean, I actually enjoy listening to you and what you have to say... I mean, you're not really dumping anything on me... I asked you about Lucrecia remember?"  
  
Vincent was about to leave when she said that.  
  
"I know Aeris... it's just that... I really don't like talking about my personal issues... not that I have anything against you... it's just, hard for me... that's all..."  
  
Before she could stop him, he walked out of the room. Aeris stared at the floor where Vincent was standing before he left. She looked up at the door and whispered his name.  
  
"Vincent..."

-End-


	17. The Green Man

These aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! The only one original in the green haired man that's looking for Vincent. You don't really know who he is, but it will all be explained in the far later chapters.. believe me. This story is going to rock starting now! Lol!! NO Flames please!! But I will take your Critiques!! I really need them!! So anything will help!! Thanks.  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
Born to Suffer /Song is by Penance/Dedicated to Vincent and the Green man.  
  
[Music: Smail/Weston/Goodbread]  
  
[Lyrics: Smail/Weston/Goodbread]  
  
All this suffering yet I cannot feel it  
  
Words of consolation I bring to you  
  
I am torn by grief and sorrow  
  
For me there's no tomorrow  
  
Hiding under your shroud of security  
  
For your peace of mind  
  
I've lived and learned with gifts bestowed on me  
  
But I was left behind  
  
I reach for you but you're illusion  
  
Please excuse me for my intrusion  
  
Once hopeful but now just living  
  
Why must I be punished for giving  
  
Youth memories that once had sheltered me  
  
Kill me in the end  
  
Born to suffer live by standard die in despair  
  
Born to suffer again  
  
Who are your heroes? Where are the morals?  
  
Somewhere in limbo but surely not here  
  
Can't you see my misery maybe tomorrow I'll be all right  
  
Blasphemy and irony of a world on it's knees  
  
Reality's gain is my loss, until a change  
  
I will suffer  
  
"Einie Menie Minie Moe, Catch a tiger by the toe, If it hollers let it go, Einie Menie Minie Moe..."  
  
"Moe it is...."  
  
There is a quick flash of light as bullets reign from the mouth of a gatling gun. Splinters of wood from a pile of coffins scatter everywhere. There is smoke rising from the gun. A rush of footsteps could be heard racing from the hall as five bodies pour into the room. The five figures in the room don the same apparel. They had black trench-coats, black pants, shirts and boots. Each of the men wore black masks over the top part of their faces. Their dark beady eyes peeped through from the two holes in the mask.  
  
"Boss, is everything alright?" One of the men piqued.  
  
The man holding the gun stood in the shadows of the room, so none of them could see where he was.  
  
"Yes, ofcourse...." The voice said smoothly. "I was only having a bit of fun."  
  
"Oh, that's good then.... For a minute we thought he got ta ya boss..."  
  
The man holding the gun stepped out into the light. He was lean and fit. He had green hair that had layers in it, which caused his hair to flip a little. His dark eyelashes framed his eyes green eyes, which had a reddish tint to them. His attire consisted of a dark green body suit, with dark blue boots. The suit looked more like a second skin. Red lines coursed through the emerald suit. It looked like his skin had been turned inside out. He wore white gloves. His face was deathly pale. He had a wide smug displayed on his thin lips.  
  
The man held the giant gun in his left hand like a toy.  
  
"I don't think Valentine, would've had a chance against me, even if he was here....I thought you said he was Kaito."  
  
The man dropped the empty gun on the floor. Two of the five men ran over and struggled to hoist it off the ground.  
  
One of the trench-coat lackeys gulped and fell on his knees. "I-I'm sorry boss! He-HE was here at least the last time I checked he was!"  
  
The man in the green suit walked over to the fallen man. There was an aura surrounding the man in the green suit, almost predator like. The lackey on the floor shook with fear as his master approached.  
  
"And when was the last time you checked?"  
  
The man in the green suit stopped in front of his quivering servant.  
  
"I-It was about a-a month ago!"  
  
The man in the green suit flicked his tongue over his pearly teeth.  
  
"Hm... a lot can happen over a month. Don't you agree Kaito?"  
  
The man bowing on the floor shook his head adamantly. "Y-Yes sir."  
  
The rest of the trench-coat gang looked on with trepidation.  
  
"I-I thought that he would never leave his coffin.. he's been in here for about a good ten years. I just didn't think-"  
  
He was cut off by his sire.  
  
"Well, we don't keep you around to think boy! You do what we tell you to do!"  
  
The man in the green suit super kicked Kaito in the chin, causing him to rise up. The poor man's head fell back and before he could react to anything, his boss did a spinning back kick that sent the lackey reeling into the nearby shelves behind him. The men quickly moved away before they were caught in the line of fire. They gasped as the man Kaito fell onto his knees, then his stomach. Blood was seeping out of his mouth and ears.  
  
The boss walked over to Kaito tsking.  
  
"Such a waste... such a magnificent waste of my time!"  
  
As he said that, he placed his boot on to the back of the man's neck and snapped it. Kaito had a surprise look on his face as he died. The rest of the man gasped at this monstrosity of display. There eyes were glued onto their dead comrade. The man in the green suit eyed everyone coldly. Not wanting to end up like their friend, they all fell onto their knees in front of the boss. The man in the green suit placed his hands on his hips satisfactorily.  
  
"Let this be a lesson to you all!! If any of you care to "think" for yourselves, then this will be your reward!"  
  
There was a choir of yes boss's as the men shook their heads in unison. After that, the men followed their boss out of the room. As the group made their way out of the Shin-Ra mansion, the boss spotted a team of children (boys mostly) playing a game of some kind. There was a little girl there. She had something shiny in her hands. Materia. The green man walked over to the little girl. She was very young, his guess about six. She had brown hair, and when she saw him approach, she shoved the materia away in the front pocket of her soiled blue dress.  
  
She pretended to twiddle her thumbs and not see him. He kneeled down before her so that he could see her face. The little girl pretends to notice him.  
  
"Oh, hi! I didn't see you there!!"  
  
"Hi, what's your name?" He asked her with a dazzling smile.  
  
"Well," the little girl fiddled around shyly. "Mama always tells me not to talk to strangers.."  
  
The closed his green eyes and nodded. "As all good mothers should. But, if I introduce myself to you, and you to me, that would make us friends, wouldn't it?"  
  
The little girl touched her chin with her hand. "Um, well, I guess that's a start. Ok! Deal!"  
  
She held out her tiny hand. The man in the green suit looked at it. She's such a tiny little thing... it would be so easy to break her. He took her hand and shook it. The little girl clapped her hands.  
  
"Well, now that we're friends, my name's Angel!" She beamed happily at him.  
  
Her front tooth was missing. The man smiled slowly.  
  
"Yes.. that's a lovely name."  
  
Angel pointed at him.  
  
"Well, now it's your turn! Tell me your name please!!" She begged.  
  
The man laughed softly. He reached over and whispered his name in her ear. After he was done, he pulled back. Angel had her face scrunched up and she was rubbing her ear.  
  
"That tickled mister." She giggled.  
  
The man waved his hand.  
  
"Listen Angel, I was wondering if you could show me what you have in here?" He pointed at her front pocket.  
  
She looked hesitant at first, her eyes rolled up.  
  
"Well... I guess so, I mean now that we're friends."  
  
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the shiny materia. The man with the green eyes stared at the cure materia she held in her tiny palm.  
  
"That's very pretty." He said and looked at her face. "Angel, can you tell me who gave that to you?" He asked out of curiosity.  
  
The little girl thought about it for a little bit. There was something weird about this guy. She didn't understand what, he was different. She didn't know if she should tell him about the man with the red cape and the red eyes, but, well, they were friends weren't they? And friends tell each other everything!  
  
"Well, I guess I can tell you. It was this guy.,, he came out of the mansion." Her eyes rested upon the old abandoned place. "He dropped this, and when I tried to give it back, he wouldn't take it. He gave it to me and I'm so happy that he did!"  
  
Now this was interesting, the boss thought as he peered into the little girls face. His green eyes narrowed. "This man you speak of, is he pale, and does he have long black hair? Was he tall?"  
  
The little girl couldn't remember. That sounded like anybody. She gasped. She did remember one thing!  
  
"Well, I don't really remember him that well, but he had a red cape, and he had real pretty eyes.. they were red!"  
  
The boss smiled. "He didn't tell you his name did he?"  
  
Little Angel shook her head. "No, he called himself a monster tho- but I don't think that's true! He looked real sad."  
  
Oh, that's Valentine alright, still the same, still moaning and complaining about atoning for his sins... The man in the green suit laughed maniacally. Angel was taken aback with his sudden outburst. It was a little scary. She didn't know why, but when he laughed like that, it frightened her. Angel swallowed. Maybe she shouldn't have told him anything about the man with the red eyes.  
  
The man in the green suit saw something creep into the little girls eyes. Yes, I know that look well enough to know... it's fear.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.." He soothed. "You see the man with the red eyes, and I, we go back a long time.. we're friends you see. I miss him and I wanted to see him again."  
  
The little girl was still unsure about her new friend, but well, it wasn't like he was going to hurt the man in the red cape. The green man was just trying to look for his friend right?  
  
The man continued. "Angel, did he tell you where he was going?"  
  
She shook her head. "But I think he went that way!" She pointed in the direction of Rocket Town.  
  
The man with the green suit gave her a winning smile.  
  
"Thank you Angel.. thank you very much..."  
  
He got up from the ground and turned to his men.  
  
"I think we need to pay the ex-members of AVALANCHE a little... surprise visit.."  
  
The goons nodded.  
  
"Sir yes sir!" They saluted him as he walked by.  
  
The man in the green suit grinned evilly.  
  
I'm coming for you Valentine.

-End-


	18. Do you Remember the Time?

These aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! The only one original in the green haired man that's looking for Vincent. You don't really know who he is, but it will all be explained in the far later chapters.. believe me. This story is going to rock starting now! Lol!! NO Flames please!! But I will take your Critiques!! I really need them!! So anything will help!! Thanks. Oh, I don't remember any of the character's parents names or anything, so I just made them up as I go. =P and if you're wondering, This is Vincent's dream, obviously... Sorry no songs yet... if ya want, you can play MJ's do you remember the time! HEE HEE!  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/  
  
It had been three years when he last saw Lucrecia. She was just as remarkable now as she was then. She laughed, and it sounded like bells and wind chimes. It made his body tingle all over. It was amazing that she still had this kind of hold on him. Vincent was sure that he would move on and forget about Lucrecia when she forgot to return his phone calls and letters. He even went to her work a couple of times after the incident when he saw her with Hojo at her job laughing and hugging each other, but still he hadn't received or heard anything from her.  
  
For the longest time, he thought that she had forgotten about him... moved on without him. He couldn't really blame her, he was after all a TURK and she was out of his league. Vincent lived to kill, Lucrecia had gone the opposite direction with her work, and lived to create Life, which is why she was involved with the new project over at the Shin-Ra mansion.  
  
Vincent had been personally assigned the task of over-seeing the project and protecting the scientists working on the project at all costs. He was given this task, by the man himself, President Alexander Brutus Shin-Ra. Vincent was the President's eyes.  
  
Vincent and Lucrecia walked along the cobble stone streets of Nibelheim. The stars twinkled and danced across the night sky. Lucrecia commented on them before they entered their favorite pub, Bartholomew's Hand. As they entered, they spotted a few of the friendly townsfolk that greeted them when they moved into the new building. Ralph Strife and his wife Jenna were busy chatting away with Bartholomew Lockhart, the bar owner, and his young wife Emily.  
  
Since Vincent and Lucrecia had come here often enough, Bart and his wife waved the couple in.  
  
"It's alright you guys, come on in, there's no need to be shy, you're regulars!! We're getting rich because of ya!"  
  
Lucrecia laughed.  
  
"Thank you.. that's very kind of you."  
  
She really liked this place, it was quaint, and had a homely atmosphere about it. Vincent helped Luca out of her coat and placed it on a coat rack near the door. Lucrecia hoped that if she ever started a family, this would be the kind of place she would live in. It's so safe here, and everyone's so nice! She rubbed her arms as Vincent ushered them to their seats. He pulled out her chair for her and back in when she sat down.  
  
"Thank you Vincent.." She trailed off slightly blushing.  
  
Vincent sat across from her.  
  
"No problem Luca."  
  
He grinned handsomely at her. Lucrecia smiled and placed her head in her hands. It had been quite awhile since she and Vincent got together. Lucrecia had wanted to get back in contact with him sooner, it was just that, she'd been so busy researching for the new alien they found during an expedition. Professor Ghast and Hojo called her Jenova. Researching about the alien's origin took a lot of her precious time. She was lucky enough that Hojo recommended her to professor Ghast. At first Ghast wouldn't even consider her, but as he read more about the clues she uncovered to Jenova's past, he decided that she knew enough, and that she would be a great asset to the project.  
  
Lucrecia quickly pushed that thought away. I didn't come here to think about work. I came here to hang out with my Vincent. She remembered all the happy afternoons and the picnics they shared together, as well as one particular winter, when they exchanged gifts, and she gave him his awful sweater she knitted. She giggled at the memory. A smile tugged at the corners of Vincent's lips.  
  
"What?"  
  
Lucrecia waved her hand.  
  
"Oh, no.. it's nothing.. really..." She trailed off.  
  
But then she couldn't contain the laughter anymore. She busted out laughing. Vincent could've sworn there were tears in her eyes.  
  
"Luca, what is it?" He asked chuckling inspite of himself.  
  
She wiped a tear from her eye.  
  
"Oh, Vincent, I- I was just thinking... Remember the time, we spent Christmas together over at my apartment?" She asked.  
  
Vincent raised an eyebrow. What? How could he forget, she had made him this god awful sweater as a present. She looked so embarrassed by it, that he decided to put it on for her just for good sportsmanship. He didn't even know which side was up, let alone the different sizes of sleeves, which were too big for him. Vincent's shoulders shook with laughter. Oh, now he was starting to cry.  
  
"HAhahah, yeah I remember... oh god Luca, what were you thinking?!"  
  
She shook her head, "I don't know... "  
  
They sat there together laughing for a while. Finally, when they got it out of their system, they sighed and called the waitress over for their drinks. After the waitress brought over their drinks, Lucrecia asked Vincent about being a TURK. Even in the past when they hung out, Vincent rarely ever spoke about his job or his life for that matter, it was always about Lucrecia. Lucrecia sipped her drink through a straw.  
  
"So, are you ever going to tell me about how or why you became a TURK?"  
  
Vincent tilted his head back, allowing his hair to dip over his shoulders. He sighed.  
  
"Lucrecia... are you ever going to stop asking me that question?"  
  
He brought his head back and looked at her face. Lucrecia smiled sweetly.  
  
"No, I won't..."  
  
Vincent sighed again. TURKS, TURKS, that's all she wanted to know. Lucreicia continued.  
  
"You promised that you would tell me on our second date, but you never did..." She chided.  
  
Vincent looked away and then back.  
  
"Lucrecia, why do you wanna know about my past? I mean about my decision to become a TURK?"  
  
Lucrecia looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she answered.  
  
"Well, I was just thinking about you the other day, and how much I knew you, but, I didn't really know you as well as I thought I did..."  
  
Vincent took a drink from his glass. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"  
  
Lucrecia nodded. "Well, what I mean is that I think I know you, but in truth I really don't know that much about you at all! I mean, think about it, you keep avoiding my question about being a TURK. It's almost as if, you want to shield or protect me from something... Vincent, if you want me to know you, then you have to let me in, on even the dark stuff too! You only show me the goodness in you, I mean, it's wonderful, that you're this fantastic guy, but I feel as though I don't know you..."  
  
Vincent thought about what she said. It hit him like a ton of bricks. The thing is, he wanted to tell her about his job, but he didn't want to lose her, if she really knew who he was, would she stay?  
  
"Alright Luca.. I'll tell you... but, I'm warning you... it's a long story.."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"It's alright Vincent, I expect it to be anyways, and besides, I don't mind I like listening to your voice."  
  
His heart melted when she said those words. But he continued.  
  
"Alright, well, you see, it all started a long time ago, when I first attended the Shin-Ra Academy....."

-End-


	19. The ShinRa Academy!

These aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! The only one original in the green haired man that's looking for Vincent. You don't really know who he is, but it will all be explained in the far later chapters.. believe me. This story is going to rock starting now! Lol!! NO Flames please!! But I will take your Critiques!! I really need them!! So anything will help!! Thanks. Oh, I don't remember any of the character's parents names or anything, so I just made them up as I go. =P and if you're wondering, This is Vincent's dream, obviously... oh sorry. still no song!!   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
/

/

A 17 year old Vincent had just gotten off of the train. He looked up at the clear blue sky and thought. So this is the floating city? He didn't see anything so magnificent about it. Midgar looked like a floating piece of machinery. Vincent didn't like the way it smelled, something about the air here smelled too different, too purified. It almost made him dizzy. He was used to the country air back at home in Gongaga Town. Vincent almost regretted coming here. But he knew he couldn't go back. This was where everyone's dreams and hopes came true.  
  
Vincent grabbed his things and hailed a taxi. The hover cab stopped by him. The driver got out and helped him put his things in the trunk. After they were done, the cab drove off leaving a gust of exhaust fumes in it's place. Vincent's lip curled in disgust. Ugh, how disgusting.  
  
He'd never smelled anything so horrible in his life, aside the fertilizer that the townsfolk used to plant their grass and crops. Vincent shook his head. His hair shook slightly. His hair had gotten long, it was down to his shoulders. He had to find a place to get it cut when he got to the college.  
  
When they stopped in front of the school, Vincent got out and stared at the formidable building. It was huge. He had never seen anything like it in his life. The outside of the school looked like a giant Pantheon. The pillars were made out of alabaster and loomed before him with grace and fortitude. The steps of the school were made out of marble. The doors to the school were electronic.  
  
He noticed the students, boys and girls, pouring in and out of the doors. They were all in uniform. The uniform code consists of grey slacks and matching jackets. The collar of the jacket had a red outline on it as well as the sleeves. There were buttons on your collar that told what rank you were. One button on your right collar meant that you were freshman, if you had two buttons on either side of your collar, that meant that you were sophomore. Three buttons, two on your right, one of your left meant that you were junior, and four, two on your right and left collar meant that you were senior.  
  
Seniors had a lot of leigh-way when it came to privileges. Since they were here longer, it showed how dedicated they were to the school. They ate before anyone else did, they had a lot more study hall periods, and they had certain rights that came before lower classmen.  
  
Your fate is decided on who you hang out with, and since Vincent really wasn't that much of a socialite, that meant that he was bound to get into trouble. The taxi cab put the last of his things on the sidewalk. Vincent thanked him and gave him his money. The taxi driver nodded and walked back to his cab.  
  
He drove off leaving Vincent coughing and sputtering from the exhaust fumes. Vincent rolled his eyes. That's the last time I take a cab. Vincent saw that he wasn't the only one new to the school. There were a lot of young fresh faces that appeared out from busses as well as cars. Some of the new students were crying. Probably because this is the first time they've been away from home...  
  
Vincent sighed, how childish is that? The families and friends of the students kiss them and hold them as they steer the terrified students toward the steps of the collage. They stood in a line and waited for the administration to welcome them to school. They didn't have to wait for long, the administration, which consisted of the dean of Housing, the dean of Academics and the dean of Athletics, and etc, came out in their fancy suits and shook hands with the parents as well as the students. It seemed like they had a dean for everything in the school.  
  
Well, where is the Dean that's in charge of all Deans? Vincent asked himself quietly. They all came over and shook his hand. After they were done meeting the parents and students, they ushered the students inside. A team of cybernetic robots came out and took their luggage in.  
  
All of the students including Vincent had been warned not to appear without their uniform. There were some of the new students quickly changing their clothes in the bathrooms of nearby restaurants before coming in. When Vincent first entered the school, he was amazed at how nice everything looked.  
  
The ceiling to the main hall was decorated with painted cherubs. The walls were thick and pale. It was such a big room, Vincent guessed the ceiling was thirty feet tall. The length and width of the room was about as big as a football field. The floors were tiled and had a bluish tint to them. Vincent could see his reflection in them. There was a giant water fountain in the middle of the room, and benches along side of it. There was a red carpet on the floor leading up to the elevators. Since there was a giant water fall in the way, the carpet went around it. There were rows of columns on either side of the red carpet. Glass chandeliers glittered across the ceiling.  
  
On the side of the walls were arches. In each arch was a person who'd been assigned to help students with their needs. For example, Financial Aid. If there was someone who couldn't get into the school, for financial purposes, they would have to go through the financial aid office. If a student needed to go pay something off, like overdue library books or something they would have to go to accounting and etc.  
  
Vincent needed to go sign in and receive his classes, as well as housing information. He walked to the arch at the end of the hall where most of the freshman gathered. The line read, "The Arch of Academic Advisement and Clearance for New Students." Vincent waited for an hour before he got up to the desk.  
  
The clerk was very friendly. She smiled at Vincent and asked for his Student pamphlet. She told him that it should've been sent to him via mail and that he needed to fill it out if he hadn't. Vincent gave her his pamphlet, he filled everything out already. After processing his data in her computer, she smiled.  
  
"Ok, Mr. Valentine, I hope you enjoy your stay here. This is one of the best schools in the world. You're very lucky to have been accepted here."  
  
She handed him his Student ID Badge, which had his number on it. She also gave him his room number as well as a student handbook. He just nodded and walked off. He had a room all by himself which is where he stayed most of the time. His room was in the west wing, where most of the freshman stayed.  
  
Vincent kept to himself mostly. He really didn't care about the frat houses or parties. He just wanted to learn all he can about everything. Most of the students thought that he was stuck up, but every now and then, they would come to him and ask to borrow something, like his notes, or his books. Vincent usually let them.  
  
He didn't really need his books anyways. Half the things the teachers preached about were already taught to him by the old man. Yes, the old man had taught him well. Vincent wrote to the old man every week telling him about school and life in the big city. Every week he got a letter with money inside from the old man telling Vincent how proud he was of him.  
  
Through the second half of the semester, Vincent got in trouble with a teacher. They had been arguing about scientific theories. Vincent was taken to the board of academics when he refused to sit in class and listen to the teacher's ridiculous ramblings. Apparently the dean of academics was interested in what he had to say. Vincent was tested out of the class and put in the class ahead of him, much to his, and the student bodies' astonishment.  
  
The teacher that had been arguing with Vincent was put on probation. Apparently, Vincent knew what he was talking about. As far as creativity went, he could paint very well, and sketch. He never really thought about girls that much, he was always absorbed in some kind of reading material or homework and it was a shame because if he had noticed, he would have been quite the ladies man.  
  
As it turned out, lot of the girls in his classes were smitten by his stand offish behavior. They seemed to picture him as a rebel of some sort, defying teachers and getting rewarded for doing it. The boys were jealous of his success.  
  
In his classes people would talk about him, almost as if he wasn't there. In the hall ways, when he passed, whispers of his name could be heard. Vincent once spotted three girls giggling and whispering about him from behind. When he turned to confront them, they ran off blushing and laughing.  
  
Women... Feh.  
  
In music class, he often sat by himself. The only time Vincent ever played the piano, was when no one was around. Apparently, one of his fan girls caught him in the act one day, and decided to tell everyone that he was secretly a master at the piano.  
  
The music teacher caught wind of it, and being a professional musician and composer, was arrogant, and couldn't believe that Vincent could hold a candle to him.  
  
He was a short fat man that wore a white toupee. He had thick ruddy fingers and pink rosy cheeks as well as a funny mustache that spiraled upwards and lay on his round cheekbones.  
  
Vincent thought that his apparel was ludicrous. The man looked like pudgy mini version of Beethoven.  
  
Professor Donovan, that was his name.  
  
The man challenged Vincent to a musician's duel one day. Vincent snorted and told the man no, but the professor was a childish man and wouldn't stop whining about it. He refused to let Vincent sit in class unless he played his game. Finally, Vincent relented. The teacher went first. He was pretty good, that man, Vincent had to admit it. He saw that the man had talent, but it was too mechanical. It was all about being right, and pounding the keys, with Donovan. Vincent didn't believe in playing the piano, unless it's with your soul.  
  
The professor looked like a mad man playing on the piano. At one point, Vincent thought that his toupee would fall off because he was playing that hard. Everyone clapped when he finished. Donovan got off his seat, adjusted his jacket and bowed.  
  
"Now, lets see how Mr. Valentine fares..."  
  
Vincent stepped up to the piano and cracked his fingers. He placed hands on the piano and started to play. His eyes closed. At first the song was soft, and you could barely hear the music, but as it went on, the music got louder. It was so eloquent and moving to see him sitting there rocking back and forth in motion with the movement of the song. It was poetry in motion... it was.... Soul...  
  
The music sounded sad, then happy, then angry, then sad, and peaceful. It was almost as if he was telling a story through his music. Very bewitching. His fingers were fast and quick across the keys. They flashed and danced. Everyone was silently in awe by the boy.  
  
No one dared breathe.  
  
Little tiny beads of sweat fell from his brow and onto the piano, but he couldn't stop. The music soared through his heart and into his hands. It was electrifying. Finally, Vincent stopped. He'd been playing for a good forty-five minutes and didn't even know it.  
  
The girls in the room were in tears, the boys were impressed, and Donovan... well, Donavon admitted defeat and disappeared from class for the remainder of the day.  
  
The next morning, Vincent was called down to the office. The board of education were concerned about him. They asked him if he knew that Porfessor Donovan left the university? Vincent shook his head innocently. No he hadn't. The board of Academics were getting weary, because it's the second time Vincent had caused a disruption of some kind in the school, although he didn't do it on purpose.  
  
The school decided that Vincent was well beyond any other kids in his class and moved him up to Junior. By the time Vincent turned 18, he was a senior.  
  
Over the course of a year, he'd moved up three grades.  
  
How peculiar.  
  
The students regarded him as some sort of vigilante. During his senior year at the Shin-Ra Academy, Vincent met three people that would alter his life, whether it be positive or negative, forever.

-End-


	20. Roommates

These aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! The only one original in the green haired man that's looking for Vincent. You don't really know who he is, but it will all be explained in the far later chapters.. believe me. This story is going to rock starting now! Lol!! NO Flames please!! But I will take your Critiques!! I really need them!! So anything will help!! Thanks. Ok. I know I know, Vinnie is having one hell of a dream here, but believe me when I say that the next chapter is it for the shin-ra academy!! well, at least for a while anyways....I swear, you'll really find out why Vince joins the turks, and everything will get back on track... until the next dream sequence. Oh, this story is definitely dedicated to all you sick sick sick fangirls out there.. and I guess I could be counted in that category as well... in my own way... ahemememme. Well on with the show.. this is rather long so bear with me... no flames though!!  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-  
  
Vincent had just been re-assigned a new room. He was disappointed because he liked his old dorm. He had been living by himself for a good year, and he rather enjoyed it. During the course of last year, he had been switched in and out of grades, the Dean of housing really didn't know where to put him, so he just kept him there, but now that the year was over, Vincent had to move into his rightful place in the senior dorms. He packed all his belongings and planned to be miserable for the next year. He had been very spoiled.  
  
When he got to the door of his new room, he could hear loud music coming from within. Vincent groaned. Oh no, please don't tell me I have to room here? He opened the door and what did his wondering eyes appear?  
  
The room was small, and there were two bunk beds in the room. One was placed on the wall to Vincent's left, the other on the wall next to the door, on his right. There was a window on the opposite wall of Vincent. It was perched all the way to the right side of the room. There dark blue curtains hanging over the window, blocking all the light. There was a tall lamp in the room, that shown brightly.  
  
There were two closets in the room and a small little bathroom. A piece of hard thick wood protruded two feet from the wall opposite of him. On it was a grey stereo systems and a pair of speakers that throbbed with the beat of the music.  
  
God, the music was awful, what do they call it? Hardcore? How could these people stand listening to this garbage?  
  
One side of the room had posters with scantily clad women plastered all over it. The other side barely had anything on it.  
  
There were two guys in the room. One was in the bottom bunk bed to the right reading a book, the other had glasses and was walking around in an apron with yellow rubber gloves dusting and cleaning. Vincent walked in with his things. The two men looked at him. The one that was cleaning the room went over to the stereo and turned the music down. The one in the bed sat up and put his book down.  
  
The room mate with the glasses pushed them back and gave Vincent a goofy grin.  
  
"Eh... hey there miss, I think you got the wrong room.... I mean, unless you're here to see Greyson." He said almost dreamily.  
  
The boy had dirty blond hair and a bowl hair cut. He had light skin and stood about 5'8. He was very thin, and didn't seem to have any sort of mass to him. Vincent glared at the boy. True, he hadn't found a good barber shop, so he didn't cut his hair. Last year his hair was at his shoulders, now it was down to the small of his back. Since his features were aqualine and feminine, it was easy for someone of the same sex to mistake him as a woman.  
  
Vincent glared at his new roommate.  
  
"I am not a woman." He stated coolly.  
  
The guy quickly gulped and realized his mistake as soon as Vincent spoke. He looked like a girl, but he sure as hell didn't sound like one. The guy laughed nervously and put his hand behind his head.  
  
"HHeh- I-I'm real sorry about that guy! I didn't mean to call you a girl, I mean, you just kinda look like one!! I mean, with the long hair and stuff, it's just hard for me to tell that's all..."  
  
He erked when he saw the fiery look in Vincent's eyes. The boy knew he had gone too far, but he couldn't help it. He was a clumsy idiot. It was his nature.  
  
The guy under the bed got up. He was dark-skinned and had a wide nose and thick lips. He stood two feet taller than Vincent, which is pretty tall because Vincent's six feet. He had cornrows in his hair and thick muscles that bulged from his uniform. The dark waved his hand at his room mate.  
  
"Ah, don't mind Mouse," He said, his voice thick and deep. "He's like that all the time, you'll get used to it. You must be the new roomie."  
  
The man stuck out his large hands and offered it to Vincent.  
  
"My name is Darren James Watkins, but everyone here knows me as D.J. or Deej."  
  
Vincent nodded and shook hands with the big guy. "Thank you."  
  
Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, the boy known as Mouse stuck out his hand as well.  
  
"Eh, my name is Calvin Sykes, but here at Shin-Ra Academy, they call me Mouse! It's very nice to meet you ah.. "  
  
Vincent reached over to shake his hand and answered, "Valentine, Vincent Valentine."  
  
At which point Mouse jumps away from Vincent and cowers behind Deej.  
  
"Yah!!!"  
  
Deej stares at Vincent with his jaws gaping.  
  
"No WAY!? You're Valentine?"  
  
Mouse pipes up from behind Dj. "THE Vincent VALENTINE?!?"  
  
Vincent looked at the two of them astonished that they would know his name. He didn't think that the upperclassmen seniors wanted anything to do with lowerclassmen issues, so how did they come across his name?  
  
"How do you guys know me?" He asked curiously.  
  
"Well, everyone here knows you Valentine." DJ said folding his arms across his broad chest.  
  
"Yeah, who doesn't?" Mouse agreed at which point DJ became angry.  
  
Mouse was violating his personal space. He pulled the geeky boy out from behind him.  
  
"Mouse, didn't we talk about personal space?"  
  
Mouse pushed his glasses back. "Oh yeah, sorry."  
  
Vincent shook his head.  
  
"Wait a minute, I don't get it! So how do you know me again?"  
  
"Well, like Mouse said, who doesn't know your name, you're the guy that got Professor Hoffman on probation!"  
  
Mouse cut off DJ. "A-And you're the guy that sleeps in class and gets all A's!!"  
  
"They say you're a wizard of some sort!"  
  
"Uh huh yeah, like casting spells on the teachers and the girls, you know make the girls like you an all.."  
  
"They say you made Professor Donovan leave the school!"  
  
Mouse groaned. "Yeah, he never liked me too much! I'm glad he left school! Good Riddance!"  
  
"They say that you made Professor Hingleton cry, when you told her that her theory on Time and Space was incorrect!!"  
  
"Uh huh, How could you Valentine? She reminds me of my mother!!"  
  
"Mouse, all fat balding women look like your mom!"  
  
"Thanks Deej... sheesh.."  
  
Vincent was taken back by all the things that he was hearing. Were these rumors a regular every day conversation for everyone? How come HE's never heard of them?  
  
"Well, if this is all true, then how come I've never heard any of it?" Vincent asked.  
  
Mouse shook his head. "No way would anyone say it to your face.. What? Do you think they want a deathwish?"  
  
Dj nodded. "Yeah, everyone's too afraid that you'll do something to them, like put a curse on them..."  
  
Mouse jumped in. "Yeah, either that, or suck their blood!"  
  
"What?!" Vincent cried out. "That's Ludicrous!!"  
  
Mouse nodded. "Well, yeah! That's what all the girls are saying.. although I know a few that said that they wouldn't mind it if you suck on them, and you know suck their blood out and stuff!!"  
  
Mouse pulled his wallet out and grabbed a picture of a cute red hair girl with pig-tails.  
  
He smothered the picture on his face. "Oh, my little Goth-girl Megumi!!!"  
  
Vincent curled his lip in disgust. "Now, who's this Megumi so I know to stay away from her?"  
  
DJ shook his head. "Man, and here I thought you were just a myth... you know? I didn't think anyone could do what you did, and get away with it! Let alone be a lower classman."  
  
Vincent scratched his head. "You guys put so much worth on titles! What's being a lower classmen, or upper classmen have to do with anything? It doesn't really matter, as long as you have all the knowledge and education you need!"  
  
Mouse and Dj shook their heads soflty. There was a long pause after he said that then DJ rubbed his chin.  
  
"Yeah well anyways, Mouse and Greyson share the bunk together, so I guess it's gonna be you and me Valentine...I hope you don't mind me calling you that."  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No not at all."  
  
Dj jumped back in his bed and picked up reading where he last left off. Mouse went outside and pulled the rest of Vincent's stuff in.  
  
"Here lemme help ya out there Vinnie ol' pal!"  
  
Vincent groaned. "Ugh, you can call me anything but Vinnie please."  
  
Mouse smiled.  
  
"Sure alright Vinni- I mean Valentine!" He caught himself at the last minute.  
  
Vincent sighed. Well at least they seemed agreeable, he thought as he unpacked his things and put them in the closet. After Mouse helped him with his things, he went back to dusting. The room looked to be in order, since Mouse seems to enjoy playing house-keeping.  
  
The closet that Dj and Vincent shared was rather small, but when Vincent went to hang his clothes, he realized that Deej was a light packer. He hardly had anything in the closet. Just a pair of well polished shoes and two of the same uniforms as well as three shirts and two pairs of blue slacks.  
  
There was a little chest drawer next to their bunk, Vincent gathered that they would be sharing that as well. That's probably where he keeps his personal things, Vincent noted as he hung his second uniform on a hanger and placed it inside.  
  
Dj looked up from his book. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you Valentine, I go home a lot on the weekends, so I'm a pretty light packer, although you must've noticed that already!"  
  
Vincent gave him a curt smile. "Yeah, I kinda figured that."  
  
Dj nodded over to the drawer. "Yeah well, I have the first to are mine, the last two are yours."  
  
"Fine," Vincent said nonchalantly.  
  
There was a long silence that followed. After Vincent unpacked all of his things, he began to put the covers of his bed sheets on.  
  
Mouse turned to Dj. "Hey, Deej? How do you suppose Greyson will react when he finds out that we got a fourth room mate?"  
  
DJ shrugged never taking his eyes off his book. "I dunno, same as always... throw a fit, cuss a lot, and then try to start something with him... then after that, who knows...."  
  
"Oh." Mouse said.  
  
He stopped dusting and started to clean the windows. Vincent was a bit concerned about what DJ said. Granted the DJ, and Mouse seemed alright, but what about this Greyson character? Judging from DJ's comment, it sounded like Vincent might have a tough time with him.  
  
Vincent continued with the covers, and then started with the pillows.  
  
Mouse started again. "Hey, DJ? How come he never did what he did to me, to you?"  
  
DJ turned to the next page of his book. "Because I'm big, black and I can kick his ass..." He said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh." Mouse said as he finished with the windows.  
  
Just as Mouse got done cleaning the windows, one of the upper classmen pupils ran into their room. He was gasping for air.  
  
"Hah .... Hah... Kouger... hah... hah.. Fight...." That was all he needed to say.  
  
Mouse and DJ took one look at each other and ran out of the room. A few seconds later, Mouse runs back in, quickly takes off his apron and gloves and run back out again.  
  
Vincent sighs. Great, this is what I have to look forward to being a senior? He quietly followed the trail of students to the cafeteria. There was a big commotion going on.  
  
What is happening here? Vincent thought as he circled around the mob of students. Because he was tall, Vincent could see over most of the students heads.  
  
They were all chanting "Kougar! Kougar!"  
  
One female in the crowd screamed annoyingly "Go Kougar! I love you!"  
  
Vincent rolled his eyes. Annoying fan-girls! He could see two students in the middle of the crowd. They were pitted against each other. There was a big guy who everyone in the school dubbed as Olaf, the official school bully, and there was another guy.  
  
He was 5'9, and had short spiky blonde hair. His bangs were long and curled under his chin. He was lean and muscular and had a bronze glow to his skin. His uniform jacket was off, and all the upperclassmen girls were swooning over his taut body.  
  
He had a small tattoo on his cheek, it was written in Chinese. It looked more like a branded tattoo to Vincent more than anything. That guy probably got it because he thought it was cool. Vincent crossed his arms and leaned up against the cafeteria wall.  
  
He could see Mouse and DJ from afar. Dj looked uninterested in the fight, like he half expected it to be over already. Mouse was hooting and cheering for the blond guy, who Vincent assumed was Kougar.  
  
Olaf was strong, but way too slow. From what Vincent could tell, the smaller guy was stringing him along. He was ducking and dodging every punch that Olaf threw. He did it in a way that looked like he was teasing the poor oaf.  
  
After five minutes of this nonsense, Vincent grew tired of this façade. He said out loud, "Finish it up already, so that we can be on our way!"  
  
When he said that, Kougar's looked in his direction.  
  
"WHAT? Who said that?!" He cried.  
  
Unfortunately for him, he turned his head at the wrong time. Olaf's right hook came flying through the air, landing squarely on Kougar's jaw. Everyone gasped. It seemed as if time stopped. Kougar's body was suspended in air for one brief moment, then as it came back down, Kougar's eyes were blazing.  
  
He recovered in record time to doge the next blow, and duck. When he did so, he quickly kicked Olaf's feet from under him and the big giant fell to the ground with a thud. Kougar then jumps up into the air and lands on the behemoth's solar plexis.  
  
Olaf cried out as the blow hit home. He flopped around on the ground for a few minutes, then passed out.  
  
After the fight was over, there was a bit of a pause, then the clapping and cheering began. Kougar snapped his fingers and a couple of his fan girls brought it to him. They oogled over him and touched the muscles of his arms saying how strong he was.  
  
Vincent felt like throwing up. No wonder that guy has a major ego!  
  
Kougar looked around the room.  
  
"Hey! Who was the one that made that comment earlier?!" He threatened.  
  
The room stopped. No one said anything. Kougar ran his hand through his spikes.  
  
"Well, come on!! Speak up whoever you are!! Someone made a comment that caused me to lose my concentration!!! I wanna know who it was so that I can give you your rightful beating!" He declared hostile.  
  
Dj rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and Mouse was quietly looking down at the floor twiddling his thumbs. Kougar continued to rant.  
  
"I'm not hearing things!! I know one of you must've said it!! Well, whoever you are, you must be a coward... heh, you probably never even fought in your life!! So what do you know about anything?"  
  
So no one would stand up to his challenge? Kougar sneered. Hah, they're all afraid of me... they should be... I'm the best.  
  
Then out of no where, a strong voice lifted from behind the crowd. "I did, I was the one that made that comment earlier!"  
  
Kougar grinned evilly. So there was someone here that was willing to defy him. Heh heh.. well whoever you are... you won't be standing for long he guaranteed silently.  
  
As the crowd parted, Kougar made his way toward the owner of the voice. Dj stood by patiently while Mouse gulped.  
  
"Get out of my way!" Kougar cried as he pushed past his fellow classmates.  
  
When he made it through the crowd, he came face to face with his unknown rival. It was a boy. He was tall about an inch or two taller than Greyson. He had long black hair and blue eyes that looked like the ocean. He had really pale skin. At first Kougar thought he was a she, but as he took a close gander, he realized that she was a he. You could always tell by the adam's apple in the neck.  
  
He was in his uniform and he had four buttons on his collar. This guys's a senior? Kougar thought to himself. Then how come I've never seen him before? Well, no matter, he cracked his knuckles, no one distracts Kougar from a fight and get away with it!  
  
"Well, stranger, before I give you a taste of my fists, would you mind telling me your name, so that I can send a letter of apology to your family?"  
  
The boy leaning up against the wall stared him down evenly. "Of course..."  
  
After a little pause, Kougar got tired of waiting.  
  
"Well? What's your name?!" he asked hotly.  
  
Vincent pulled away from the wall and put his hands in his pant pockets.  
  
"Valentine... Vincent Valentine."  
  
The entire cafeteria was silent. Kougar couldn't believe his ears. THE Vincent Valentine?! There was another moment of silence then all of the sudden, before either of them could do anything, a horde of horny teenage fan-girls mobbed Vincent.  
  
"Ahh!! It's Mr. Valentine!!! Oh god!! Look at his hair!! He's so gorgeous!!"  
  
Vincent was horrified he wanted to get away, but it was too late, there was nothing he could do as the mob of fangirls pulled him away leaving the rest of the upperclassmen boys in a stupor.  
  
Kougar looked a little shaken.  
  
"W-W-What just happened here?!"  
  
Wasn't HE the one that had just defeated the tyrannical school bully? Wasn't HE the one that had gotten punched in the face by the evil Olaf? And- wasn't HE the one that was in the circle fighting?! What did this Valentine guy have that he didn't have? Kougar had a scowl on his face.  
  
Dj tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"If you're wondering what this guy has over you, it's a little thing called class..."  
  
Dj walked back towards the room with Mouse traling closely behind.  
  
"Ah man... if it isn't Kougar getting all the girls, it's Valentine!" He said dejectedly.  
  
Soon all the boys decided to take their leave of the cafeteria which left Olaf on the floor, and Kougar standing there stranded all by himself.  
  
Who is this Valentine guy?

-End-


	21. Oh how the year goes by

These characters aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but what the hell I thought that I needed a break, well, now I'm back, you can give me my good ol critiques. No flames, I still have no songs, and Kougar, Dj, and Mouse are all my characters. This is a long long chapter and it's somewhat revealing, it's majorly about the roommates and where they come from. I swear, I'll finish this Shin-Ra Academy thing real soon okies?! Thanks for reading, oh, thanks to those who review my crap! Special Thanks to Ardwynna Morrigu, Sephiroth2021, Mako Magic, Ezri Candy (I still have the Vincent pluchie!)!,Lady Complicated, Bishonen no miko, Aeri, thanks to you guys for helping inspire me to write!!   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/

/

/  
  
Greyson Kougar was pissed. How could this have happened to him?! What the hell? He slammed his fist into the wall of his room. Mouse looked on with concern while DJ sat on his bed scratching his head.  
  
"Come on Grey! It isn't that bad!! I mean you still kicked ass!! That fight against Olaf was mad cool!" Mouse said while putting his apron and rubber gloves away in his drawer.  
  
Kougar pounded his fist against his hand. "No it ain't that... it's just that- that Valentine guy!!! I mean, who does he think he is? Strolling up here acting like such a big shot!! I mean, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten slugged!!"  
  
Mouse nodded. "Yeah, that's quite a bruiser you got there dude!"  
  
Kougar scowled at him. "Shaddap Mouse!!" Mouse erked and bowed his head.  
  
DJ shifted himself so that he was laying on the bed. "Relax Greyson, you don't even know the guy, besides, he just said what we were all thinking! I mean, even I was getting bored!"  
  
Kougar pouted,"Yeah well, that don't give him the right to go saying something like that, and causing me to look bad in front of people! I mean, those ARE my fangirls out there!!!"  
  
Mouse raised his hand. "Don't you mean WERE Greyson?"  
  
Kougar glared at his friend. He turned to face DJ. " I mean, I've never seen this guy around here, I've just heard that he's real stuck up ya know? Well, I don't know about you guys, but I wanna know where he's gonna be staying! I didn't think that I would ever get to meet Valentine but, I don't want him as a room mate!"  
  
Mouse and Dj looked at each other and then back. Mouse laughed nervously. "Well, heheheh... eh.. you know Grey, I think there's something you ought to know..."  
  
Kougar looked at mouse evenly, his hands flexing. "Oh yeah Mouse? An what's that?"  
  
Mouse gulped. "eh.. well ya see.. eh... I uh..... " He trailed.  
  
Greyson crossed his arms and raised a brow. "So? Come one Mouse spit it out!!"  
  
Mouse looked shaken. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. He was too small, and Greyson'll probably kill him if he knew that Vincent was their new room mate. Kougar was tapping his feet eagerly anticipating what Mouse had to say. Dj shook his head and sighed. Mouse? When are you going to learn how to stand on your own? Dj cleared his throat. That got everyone's attention.  
  
"Ahem, well, you see Grey, about our new room mate, ah, I think that there's something you should know..."  
  
Kougar turned his head towards DJ. "Yeah?" He asked impatiently.  
  
"Well," Dj continued. "I guess there's no easy way of saying this so-, I'll just come out and say it.... Our new room mate is-"  
  
A few seconds later, outside their door, a horrible cry rang out through the halls of the Academy.  
  
"WHAT?!?!" Kougar screamed.  
  
It could be heard miles away. The students walking around the halls stopped to ponder what had transgressed inside the room. When nothing happened, they continued doing what they were doing before the interruption. Kougar's heart was pounding. His head was screaming. His fists were wound up so tight the room mates thought that his bones were going to pop out.  
  
Dj merely shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I told you that there was no easy way of saying it, so- there!"  
  
Mouse was frightened. Uh oh, does this mean that I have to become the punching bag again?  
  
Kougar grabbed at his hair.  
  
"Wh-What does it all mean?!?! We got Valentine as our new roommate?!?" He yelled incredulously.  
  
Ah man, could things get any worse?!? Kougar shook his head. "No way man!! Nu-UH!! I ain't puttin up with this shit! There's absofuckinlutely no WAY!! I'ma have to go downstairs to the dean of the students, or whatever, an talk some sense to that old guy, an see if we can get rid of Valentine!! I don't want this bastard in my room!! There's no way!!"  
  
Dj scratched his head. "Well, I don't see how you're going to accomplish that guy, I mean, you are still on probation for fighting Olaf last week, and if he finds out you were fighting againe.... My take is, you're probably the least person the dean of students wants to see, and if you do go down there an talk to him, I think that he'd just laugh and say you got what you deserve and to handle it. He can't kick someone out of the room, especially if they didn't do anything!"  
  
Mouse agreed. "Yeah, an besides, I think that Vincent's a decent guy!"  
  
Kougar scowled. "Oh yeah? And since when did you become so opinionated?"  
  
Mouse hung his head.  
  
Dj shook his. "Man, how can you be so rude man? That's your friend over there? Don't that mean anything?"  
  
Kouger growled. "Nothing means anything to me..."  
  
Dj smacked his lips. "Well, that's a damn shame you feel that way..."  
  
Kougar ignored Dj's comment. "Whatever, don't worry about me, I can take care of myself, and Valentine..."  
  
He went over to his bunk and hopped atop his bed. Kougar sighed. "I swear, if Valentine tries anything funny, I'm gonna get him!"  
  
Dj snorted and closed his eyes. "Heh, yeah, this coming from a guy who's been on the deans list of misfits!"  
  
The list of misfits, was a little list inside the Dean of Students's office. On that list were names of students that have misbehaved or were academically failing. Kougar's name was on that list along with several others. Kougar had discovered the list one day while "visiting" the dean's office.  
  
Kougar shrugged off Dj's comment. "Whatever...."  
  
He sat there staring up into the ceiling wondering about living with Valentine. As long as he stays on his side, I'll be fine!  
  
As if on cue, the door opened, and a very bruised and disheveled Vincent strutted through the doorway. Mouse and Dj's jaw dropped. Vincent looked so haggard and ill. His hair was messed up. His cheeks had a touch of pink to them. His uniform was wrinkled and dirty.  
  
What happened? Dj sat up in bed. "Hey, you ok over there Valentine? I mean, you look pretty beat up! What did those fan girls do to you?!"  
  
Mouse went over to Vincent's side. "Awe man! Tell me you didn't have sex with all of them!!"  
  
Vincent stared down the smaller man. Mouse jumped back, and cowered under Vincent's gaze. Vincent re-adjusted his uniform.  
  
"I did no such thing." He said icily.  
  
He ran his long fingers through his straggly hair. Horrible creatures these fan girls... He shuddered when he thought about them.  
  
Dj glared at Mouse. "Mouse, what the hell's wrong with you? Why are you always saying stupid things that make people wanna smack you?!"  
  
Mouse placed his hands on his hips. "I don't think I say anything stupid!"  
  
Vincent rolled his eyes and walked by the two squabbling roomies. He was so preoccupied about his new popularity that he didn't notice Kougar seething at him. Vincent stepped over to the closet and grabbed his extra uniform. As he was about to go into the little bathroom, he heard a voice call him.  
  
"Yo Valentinte!!" Vincent stopped in his tracks.  
  
The voice sounded familiar. He turned to confront the owner of the voice. His eyelids hooded over when he spotted the guy from the cafeteria, in the room on top of the other bunk. Kougar was that what they called him in the caf? What was he doing here? Don't tell me HE'S Greyson? Vincent stood there and studied Kougar for a bit. The other guy seemed to be observing him as well. A smug slowly spread over Kougar's handsome face.  
  
"So, you're the one they call Valentine!" He stated with an attitude.  
  
"Yes... I am." Vincent retorted evenly. What is up with this guy?  
  
Kougar pursed his lips together. "I heard a lot about you Valentine... Is it true what they say about you?"  
  
Vincent blinked. "What do you mean is it true?"  
  
Kougar waved his hand. "You know... the rumors, that you got Donovan fired and made Hingleton cry and all that bull shit! I'm asking ya if it's true...."  
  
Vincent nodded. "Some... Is your name Kougar?"  
  
Kougar snickered. "That's only my last name, my first name is Greyson....."  
  
Vincent turned towards the bathroom door placing his hand on the knob. Kougar stopped him again.  
  
"Oh, Valentine...."  
  
Vincent turned his face towards the blond boy. He arched his brow inquisitively.  
  
"Don't think that because you're hot stuff then, that you'd be able to pull off the same shit up here with us! I know you! You're spoiled and you're probably used to getting yer own way, but I'm here to tell you! It ain't going down like that! Not here! Not ever!! There's only one bad ass here! An that's me!" And with that warning, Kougar rolled over to his side so that he wouldn't have to look at the eye sore.  
  
Vincent stared at Kougar's back for a couple of seconds, and entered the bathroom, leaving Mouse and Dj to their heated argument.  
  
It went on like this for a couple of months. At first everything seemed normal. Vincent was not used to sharing a room, let alone with three other people, but he soon found that he enjoyed Dj's company as well as Mouse's, to a certain degree. Vincent learned a lot about his roommates.  
  
Dj came from a middle class well to do family. He had four other siblings, three boys, and one girl. Dj was the second oldest of the bunch. His father worked for the Shinra company and his mother ran a little café down Midgar central, called Black Iris. His family was the stereotypical fun loving family, that everyone wished they had. Vincent could only dream that he be as fortunate as his friend. So, that's why Dj goes home on the week ends. He has a wonderful family that supports him.  
  
Dj could always be found sitting outside under a shade reading a book or on the bed reading a book, it seemed wherever you go,there he was with some kind of reading material in his large hands.  
  
Mouse, had only his mother to rely on. No wonder he's so timid and he's such a mama's boy!  
  
His mother was a plump woman that wore heavy perfume and immersed herself in her wealthy attire. What Vincent remembered most about her were her ridiculous hats. They were so big and droopy. She nearly knocked down every one she walked by. Vincent himself had to duck a couple of times, else he be hit as well, during family visitation week.  
  
Vincent had to smile, she reminded him of a female version of Professor Donavon.  
  
Mouse came from a wealthy family. He was the only male in his family so that made him the sole heir to his family's fortune. Mouse's father passed away when he was really young. Before he passed on to the afterlife, he purchased 5 mines in the Mideel area. As it turned out, those mines were filled with the precious Mythrill metal. Mouse's father never got a chance to see his fortune, but thanks to him, Mouse and his mother, were well taken care of. Mouse never had any friends. He was such a shy little kid, he would just hang out at home with the servants and help them clean.  
  
So that's why Mouse likes to clean so much!  
  
Kougar remained a mystery to Vincent, and he was glad too. Vincent didn't want to be around anyone who thought he was god's gift to mankind. Neither Vincent or Kougar enjoyed each other's company. But it seemed as if the two had a silent agreement, a kind of, if you stay out of my way I'll stay out of yours, type of deal.  
  
Whenever Vincent came into the room, Dj and Mouse were there to greet him. Kougar would cuss or stand up and walk out of the room miffed. Whenever Kougar decided to bring a girl home, Vincent was always there doing his homework or reading. The girl would be more interested in Vincent than she would about Kougar, which really pissed him off.  
  
They would have arguments about privacy and respect. Vincent usually ended up leaving the room. God, how he despised Kougar! Why doesn't he just grow up?!  
  
Vincent didn't have anyone that he could rely on as a friend. He felt so uncomfortable talking about his problems, so he didn't. Instead, he wrote to the old man and explained to him, his dire situation. The old man's response was always smoothing and settling. Vincent looked forward to getting his letters from the old guy. He always felt better after reading them. He had a shoebox full of letters from his father figure and he kept it in his bottom drawer, neatly tucked away.  
  
One day, while writing a letter in bed, Kougar came bursting in through the doorway. Apparently Mouse accidentally spilled tomato soup on Kougar's uniform jacket. He was furious. Kougar threw Mouse into a wall and was getting ready to throw a punch. Vincent intervened. Kougar sneered because he had wanted an excuse to fight Vincent, and he got one. Vincent knew that Kougar would never leave him alone. That he would always be there lurking in his shadows. Vincent knew that Kougar's fight with Mouse was only a façade to get to him, so he accepted the challenge.  
  
This fight was long overdue.  
  
They were outside in the gymnasium. Kougar, Vincent and Mouse. Vincent was standing 10 ft opposite of Kougar. Mouse was on the side lines sweating. Vincent had his hands in his pockets, a look that everyone at school had grown accustomed to seeing him in. Kougar had his arms crossed. A smug smile tugged at the corner of his handsome lips.  
  
"Heh, I hope you know how to fight Valentine... cuz I'm not going easy on ya!" He cracked his knuckles.  
  
Vincent bowed his head slightly. "Don't worry about me... I've read enough books to know what to do..."  
  
Kougar laughed evilly. "HAhaha.. yeah well, reading and experiencing it are two different things!!"  
  
I am so going to win this fight, Kougar thought as he stretched.  
  
There was a student running in the hall towards the cafeteria. He was tired and out of breath, but he had to tell everyone the great news! He stopped in front of the caf. There were so many people here, and so little time, so he'd just blurt it out.  
  
"Hey, everyone!!! There's a fight happening in the gym!!!"  
  
That got everyone's attention.  
  
"IT's Kougar vs Valentine!!"  
  
There was a long pause first. No one knew quite what to say. Then suddenly the screaming horde of fangirls yelped and cried with joy.  
  
"OH MY GOD!!!!"  
  
Then everyone started for the gym knocking over the messenger. Dj had just gotten out of the lunch line and was ready to put down his tray when he heard the news.  
  
"Oh lord!!" He smacked his face. "What the hell are those two trying to do here?"  
  
He dropped his tray of goodies and ran after the crowd.  
  
When Dj got to the gym, everyone was there, he spotted Mouse on the other side and meandered his way towards the small fry. Mouse called over to Dj as he neared and pointed towards the center of the circle. Dj turned his head and spotted Kougar and Vincent. The fight hadn't started.  
  
They were staring each other down. Dj accidentally bumped into someone. When he peered down at the person, he noticed that the person was a small brunette female. She had a wad of bills in her hand. Dj's frowned at her, but this sort of behavior he had grown accustomed to. He already knew that as of now, students were betting on which one of his friends would win the fight.  
  
Kougar's eyes never left Vincent. There they were, two rivals facing off. Kougar narrowed his eyes. This is going to be fantastic! Kougar darted towards his opponent at lightning speed. The whole crowd blurred as he focused on his main target. Valentine.  
  
As Kougar neared him, he brought up his right hook. Vincent stood there anticipating this move. He stayed glued at his spot until the last second possible, then without warning, he dodged to his right, avoiding the attack. Kougar's eyes were wide with surprise.  
  
How did Valentine do that? That was so quick! He quickly banished the thought as Vincent's leg came from the side in swinging motion. Kougar quickly blocked with his arms. The force from the kick sent him back a couple of steps. Vincent curled his leg back and back onto the floor, his hands never left his pockets.  
  
Kougar smiled. "Heh.... You're good..."  
  
Vincent smiled at this. "Thanks. I've been practicing."  
  
This time Vincent took his hands out of his pockets. They hung there by his side. They stood there for a couple of seconds. Kougar knew better than to attack Vincent. He had learned not to overestimate his opponent. He would not be so careless again.  
  
"Alright then... let's get this show on the road!" Kougar held his hands up boxer style. His feet were slightly apart from each other.  
  
This time Vincent was the first to strike. He ran towards Kougar. Kougar was ready. Vincent threw a few punches. They were rather weak, Kougar deflected them easily. Heh, is that it? That was pretty weak! Kougar laughed. That was his mistake. Vincent's leg came up at lightning speed. Kougar had a mere seconds to react to this. He had been so preoccupied with the weak punches, that he left himself open for an easy attack.  
  
Kougar's grabbed Vincent's leg and tossed the pale man behind him. Vincent reacted by doing a few backward flips on his hands and feet. He landed in a crouch. Both men were breathing heavily. The crowd was jeering them and egging them on. There were shouts coming from the student body.  
  
"Go Valentine!! Go Kougar!!"  
  
Kougar and Vincent decided that it was time they took off the kiddy gloves and ran towards each other. They began attacking each other at different angles. They were good.  
  
Each time Kougar thought he had Vincent, he would deflect the punch or dodge it somehow. Kouger once thought he had Vincent. He tripped Vincent and was getting ready to bring his leg down in a crushing blow when Vincent grabbed his leg and twisted it causing Kougar to lose his balance and flip onto his back. He must have turned three times in the air before landing on his back.  
  
Vincent hopped up and bounced back into his fighting stance. He had his hands up. There were tiny beads of sweat on his forehead. Kougar growled and hopped back up as well. This was the longest fight he's had in a while, it had been going on for a good half hour. Valentine just won't give up.  
  
The two were getting ready to go at it again when someone screamed.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?!"  
  
IT was a professor! Everyone started to scramble.  
  
"Ah... quick! Get outta here man!! Let's goo!!"  
  
Vincent and Kougar gave each other a knowing look. "We'll finish this later..."  
  
They turned to leave, but someone grabbed a hold of them.  
  
"There they are!! Those are the two that were fighting!!" It was the Dean of students. He looked mad.  
  
Vincent and Kougar were brought down to his office. The dean of students was very cross and didn't like the fact that they were fighting in the gymnasium.  
  
"There were students around... they could have been seriously hurt!! What were you guys thinking?!? Our school is built on principals of respect and discipline!! The students that go here are the best of the best around the world. Do you want to ruin our good name?!"  
  
After he lectured them for a while, he decided to let them go. "Vincent," The old man turned to him. "I know, that you're a good student... And I don't believe that you started the fight! If you promise not to do this again, I'll let you leave with a warning... "  
  
Vincent nodded. "Yes sir, I promise that this won't happen again. Not on this property."  
  
The dean nodded. "Alright, you may go."  
  
Vincent got up from his chair. As he started for the door, he noticed that Kougar hadn't been dismissed by the dean yet. Vincent casted a sideward glance at his room mate. Kougar had a nonchalant look on his face. Like he knew he was in for it.  
  
The dean shook his head at Kougar.  
  
"Greyson, I just don't know what to do about you anymore!! I've tried and tried... nothing seems to be getting through to you!! I know that you've had a hard life, and that this is all new to you... but you don't need to do this!! I've given you countless chances to redeem yourself... do you not want to be here? Is that it? This was the last straw young man! You were on probation and now this? I don't want to do this to you... but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to let you go Greyson... I-I'm sorry-"  
  
Greyson looked away from the old man.  
  
The dean of students shook his grey head. "I-I'm terribly sorry Greyson... in a way.. I feel responsible for you... you remind me of my dead son.. maybe that's why I've given you so many chances... but now that's got to stop. I can't keep giving you chances so that you can throw it all away. What would that be telling the students? I can't treat you any different than I treat them."  
  
There seemed to be a hint of sadness in Kougar's eyes when the old man said that he reminded him of his dead son. So, he has a soul after all.  
  
The two men seemed to have forgotten about Vincent's presence until he cleared his throat. "Ahem..."  
  
Kougar and the Dean of students looked up at him. "Oh, Vincent, I thought you left already?"  
  
Vincent paused for a brief second. I hope what I'm doing doesn't come back to bite me in the ass! Vincent stepped towards the two men.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I have a confession."  
  
The dean of students looked surprised. "Oh?"  
  
Vincent nodded. "Yes, I have to say, it wasn't Greyson who started the fight, it was me. You see, we both share the same room, and we haven't been getting along very well. I suggested to Greyson that we go to the gym to spar. I guess word must have gotten out somehow, and that's when all the students came. I was a little upset and I guess I just got out of hand. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone... Greyson didn't want to do it, he told me that he was on probation, but I pushed for it. I'm sorry that I did. I wasn't thinking at all. Forgive me." Vincent bowed his head forward.  
  
The dean sat there for a moment. At first Vincent didn't think that he would buy it. But apparently he did.  
  
"Alright Mr. Valentine, I guess I have no choice but to put you on probation for your rude misconduct. You, Greyson or another one of your peers could have been seriously hurt! I strongly urge you to use your head next time you come up with another one of your bright schemes! I'm surprised by you Vincent, I thought you had more sense!"  
  
Vincent sighed. "I'm sorry sir, I swear it won't happen again!"  
  
The dean sat there staring at Vincent for another minute. Finally he relented and let the boys go. "I'll be watching you two!"  
  
When the boys made their way out of his office, they headed straight for the room. Neither of them said a word to the other. When they got to their door, Kougar stopped them.  
  
"You know, just because you did what you did, don't mean nothing! I'm still not gonna like you!"  
  
Vincent nodded. "I wasn't expecting you to. Frankly, I don't give a damn."  
  
Kougar frowned. "Oh yeah, then why help me? I mean, I'm the guy that you were fighting with in the gym a few hours ago!!"  
  
Vincent shrugged. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."  
  
Kouger shook his head. His eyes narrowed and he pointed his finger at Vincent. "I don't want your pity Valentine, an I never asked for it!!"  
  
Vincent crossed his arms. "You, you , you, the world doesn't revolve around you Greyson, I didn't do it for you!"  
  
Kougar's eyebrow arched. "Oh yeah? Then who'd you do it for? Yourself? So that you can feel like a big man? Kougar's in trouble so good ol Valentine swoops in to save the day?" He said bitterly.  
  
Vincent blinked. "If you have to know, I did it for the old man..."  
  
This answer startled the blonde boy. He had to step away from Vincent. "What?"  
  
Vincent nodded. "Yeah, I guess.. I did it for the old man. I didn't think he wanted you to leave the school. All that talk about his dead son....- I guess I didn't want to picture his lonely old face, thinking about his kid. And besides, I think that he would miss you too much if you leave."  
  
Kougar stood there and allowed Vincent's words to sink in. Vincent placed his hand on the knob and turned it. He walked into the room leaving the door open for Kougar.  
  
As the weeks went on, Vincent began to notice something strange about Kougar. It seemed like a side of Kougar that Vincent hadn't notice before. He was no longer a hothead, he hadn't cussed in a while, or started any fights. He had become quiet and reclusive, he didn't even seem like the same person. Dj and Mouse were intrigued by this sudden display of peace in him. They had known Kougar for a long time, and neither of them ever saw him act this way. This strange phenomena went on for a good month.  
  
Dj and Mouse often asked Vincent questions about the change in Kougar.  
  
"You gotta tell us your secret Val, I mean I've never seen Kougar act this strange in all the years I've known him!" Mouse stated with outstretched arms.  
  
Dj agreed. "Yeah man, You gotta give us the low down, I mean, this is like a miracle! Are you sure you're not a wizard?!"  
  
Vincent stared them both down. "I have no comments, if you guys are so interested in Kougar's change, why don't you ask him yourself?"  
  
The two room mates shook their heads in unison and held up their hands. "Nah, nah, that's aight.... "  
  
At the end of the month, Kougar reverted back to his semi-normal self. He was still a hot head, that'll never change, but he was definitely calmer and more laid back. He even spoke on friendly terms with Vincent.  
  
Kougar told Vincent about his past. He was born and raised in the slums. Kougar had been orphaned at age eight. He doesn't remember his parents, or what they look like, but he remembered that he was very happy once. He has one sister who was four years younger than him. Her name is Sarah. They lived together in an orphanage.  
  
The head mistress and master were vile people that profited off of the well- being of others. The head mistress was a miserable woman that lived to terrorize the orphans in her care. The head master was an odious man that never stood up to his wife and listened to everything she said with bated breath. He treated the children just as horribly. Kougar and Sarah never had enough to eat.  
  
There were days when they would starve because there wasn't enough food to go around. They would have to save their scraps and ration them out between the two.  
  
One day, the head mistress found out what they were doing and punished them by giving their food to the rest of the children. She made them watch as the orphans devoured their scraps.  
  
Sarah had cried. Kougar? He vowed to take Sarah away from the orphanage.  
  
One day, they snuck into the kitchen and took some food. They left in the dead of night. They were runaways. After they left the orphanage, they begged for survival. They came across a Vatican. The nuns there took pity upon them and took the two children in. The nuns taught Sarah and Kougar how to read and write as well as other general studies. It was then that they discovered just how intelligent Kougar was. He picked up everything they taught him. Learning came naturally to him.  
  
Kougar was ingenious, but because of the way he was raised, trust didn't come naturally to him. He was very over protective over Sarah, he even bit one of the nun's that tried to take them in. He thought that she was trying to take Sarah away.  
  
They lived in the Vatican for a couple of years. Kougar was twelve now. Sarah was eight. The nuns had found a great couple for little Sarah. Because of his age, the couple weren't interested in Kougar. He was too old.  
  
Sarah, she was perfect. A blonde little girl. That's what the couple wanted. When it came time for them to part, Sarah had cried. She didn't want to go without Kougar.  
  
With a little help from the nuns and coaxing from Kougar, she finally relented and left with the couple. Sarah was in tears. She cried so much and sadly waved at Kougar as the car pulled away.  
  
Kougar was on the verge of a breakdown. He had lost everything he held dear, and nobody wanted him. He wanted so badly to cry, but he didn't. He knew that all of this would work out somehow, and he was happy that Sarah found a place, even if the couple didn't want him.  
  
After that, Kougar was sent to a boarding school. He lived there until he was eighteen. When he turned, he decided that he would attend college in the city. He came to the Shin-Ra Academy, and he's been here ever since.  
  
After his story, Vincent sat there intrigued by the story told to him by his former rival. Vincent was pleased at the fact that Kougar felt close enough to him to tell him his secrets and his past. Vincent felt compelled to do the same. After Vincent told Kougar his story. The two laughed at how much they had in common.  
  
Now that Kougar was in better spirits, the four room mates became nearly inseparable. They hung out at the same lunch table, they all did homework together and they nearly took the same classes together.  
  
Whenever Vincent and Dj got into philosophy debates, Kougar and Mouse would play cards or talk about women and vise versa. By the end of the year, Vincent, Mouse, Dj, and Kougar had become more than friends, they were brothers.  
  
Before they graduated, they spent some time together in their room pondering about what they were going to do after they graduated. They were all in the room lying in their beds. It was 1:00 am. The moonlight shown through the cracks of the curtains.  
  
"So, Vincent, whaddaya think yer gonna do after ya graduate?" Kougar asked him. He had turned over so that he was lying on his stomach.  
  
Vincent had his hands behind his head. His black hair spilled over the pillow. "I don't know. I actually haven't thought about that at all." He answered truthfully.  
  
Mouse tsked. He was busy knitting away in his bed. "I dunno about you guys, but, I think I'm going to go home and take over my dad's business's. I mean, my mom says it's about time you know, for me to be a man and come home."  
  
Kougar scowled. "Eh, ferget about your mamma for a second you cry baby! We're talking about what YOU wanna do!"  
  
Mouse stopped knitting and thought about the question. He shrugged his bony shoulders. "I guess I really don't know too, I mean, this is gonna sound weird, but I always thought that we should all do something together you know? Like go into some kind of business together... I mean we're all pretty smart. I think it would be worth investigating! And if you're worried about the funds don't be. I got plenty of money."  
  
Kougar lifted his head from the pillow. "Hey, you know, that don't sound like such a bad idea Mouse."  
  
Mouse yawned. "Yeah well... Hey Deej? What are you going to do after this?"  
  
Dj scratched his head. "I dunno, beats me... although-" He trailed off.  
  
Kougar shifted onto his back. "So, what was that again Deej?"  
  
Dj shook his head. "I dunno, it's just something my dad told me!"  
  
Mouse neatly tucked his needles and yarn back in it's cases. "Oh yeah? What's that?"  
  
Dj shifted so that he was on his side leaning on his elbow. "Weelll- you guys know that my dad works for Shin-Ra right? It's just that he told me recently that they were opening this division in the building. It's already been authorized by the president himself. It's supposed to be a special elite force for the president. It's kinda like body-guarding stuff. But I heard that it pays really well."  
  
Kougar shook his head. "hm... sounds intriguing. What's it called?"  
  
Dj shrugged. "I forget actually, I think my Dad told me, but I forgot the name of it. It sounds kinda retarded. Anyways, I think that my Dad wants me to join so that I'd be closer to home."  
  
"Oh." Mouse and Kougar said at the same time.  
  
Kouger narrowed his eyes. "Hey Deej? You think your dad could hook me up with a job at Shin-Ra inc?"  
  
Dj nodded. "Yeah he could if I asked him. Why you thinking about joining up with that new division?"  
  
Kouger shook his head. "Yeah, it sounds kinda cool actually. Not only that, but we'd probably be on the same team! HEH, imagine that, it'd like here all over again."  
  
Mouse piped up from under the bed. "Hey, hey, don't forget about me too! I wanna go, if you guys go! I think we'd make a great team!! I mean, look at us!! We all get along right?"  
  
Dj sat up in his bed. "Hey, I don't care as long as I'm not there by myself! I'm sure my Dad would help us! Half the people over at Shin-Ra Inc are alumnus's from this school anyways! There's no way they'd turn us down!"  
  
All three boys were getting excited. Dj poked Vincent's mattress from underneath. "Hey Valentine, you're not asleep are you?"  
  
It had been a while since Vincent spoke. Everyone forgot about him.  
  
"Yes, I'm still up" He replied tonelessly.  
  
He had been contemplating what the guys said. Vincent sighed. He had wanted to visit Gongaga Village one last time before deciding on what to do for the rest of his life.  
  
Kouger sat up in his bed as well. "Hey Val, you should join up with us too!"  
  
Vincent shifted himself so that he could see Kougar's face. His eyebrows were raised. "What? Body guarding? Sounds like we'd be fighting and putting our lives at stake, and for what? The most maniacal man on earth? That's not my cup of tea."  
  
DJ shook his head. "Man, you better not let them catch you saying that about the pres, you'd be in trouble."  
  
Mouse peered up at Vincent through his covers. "Awe, come one Vincent, why don't you just go with us an see what it's like? I mean working for Shin- Ra can't be that bad! Hey, Deej, what else do you know about this division?"  
  
Dj scratched his head. "Well, I think my Dad also said that they train you before you become a body guard, I mean you have to be good, like real good. I mean you're really there to protect the president. I think he said that you get trained for a good six months, then at the end of the six months, you have to pass a test of some kind, and then after that, you're hired."  
  
Mouse pursed his lips. "Well, what if you don't make it?"  
  
Dj shrugged. "I dunno about the guys that don't make it, I just know what my Dad tells me."  
  
Kougar bit his lip. "They probably let them go or give the guys who don't make it like desk jobs or somethin who knows. I know that I'll probably make it through the training program, so I'm not worried about that at all!"  
  
Mouse gulped. He knew that Kougar had the strength and the discipline to go through the rough training, but Mouse didn't know if he himself had the endurance to go through that at all.  
  
Kougar fell back onto his pillow. "I dunno Valentine, I think you should go and try it out with us. I mean, yer a smart guy! You can probably do anything you want, but don't you wanna do somethin out of the ordinary fer once? I mean at least go with us to see what it's like, hell, why don't you go through trainin with us? Then if you decide that you don't wanna do it anymore, you can just quit! I mean it's that simple!"  
  
Vincent sighed. Was it that simple? He didn't know. Vincent bit his lip. He could do it. Kougar was right, he could do anything he wanted. He could become a musician, or a writer, or a philosopher, or a translator of some sort. Vincent could speak three different languages so it wasn't that difficult. Or maybe he could be a teacher? A professor? Maybe a scientist? He was always an inquisitive creature, so it wasn't that far of a stretch. What did he want to be?  
  
Vincent shook his head. I- I don't know what to do? Nothing seemed challenging enough for him. At that pinnacle point in his life Vincent decided, that it was time for a change.  
  
I think that I will go with the others... it can't be that bad can it? I just want to see what it's like. It's not as if I'll enjoy it. I can always leave if I want to. Besides, I think that I would rather like it if we- if we were all still together after we graduate. Kougar, Mouse, and Dj, they're my only friends. I would miss them. I don't want to be alone anymore. I can't ever imagine being without those guys. I don't know how I've made it this long with out people in my life. So- I think that I will- I will go and see. Only see. Vincent told that to himself quietly.  
  
"Hey, Valentine, why you so quiet? You still haven't answered, are you gonna come with us or not?" Kougar asked annoyed. He was very impatient.  
  
Vincent inhaled shortly. "I think that I will go with you.... Just to see how it is.."  
  
Kougar looked surprised. "Really? Awright! Now that's what I'm talkin bout! Heh, now that Val's comin, we're gonna be unstoppable!" He pumped his fist.  
  
Vincent scowled. "I didn't say that I was going to join, I- I just want to see what it's like, and then I'll make my decision."  
  
Kougar waved his hand. "Yeah, whatever, you're gonna join up!"  
  
Mouse grinned, "Yeah, this is great! It'll be cool!!"  
  
Dj yawned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm tired, so we'll have to talk about this tomorrow..." He rolled over onto his side and pulled his covers around tightly.  
  
Vincent rolled his eyes and turned over. His thoughts were on the old man. I wonder what he's going to say about me going to Shin-Ra. Vincent gathered that the old man wouldn't like it too much. The old man had been strongly against Shin-Ra for years. The only reason why he helped Vincent enroll at the Academy was because it was a reputable school and it was a way of helping him meet people and become sociable. Vincent shook his head and closed his eyes. I hope that he doesn't become too angry with me. With that thought in his mind, he drifted off to sleep.

-End-


	22. Something I can never have

These aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but what the hell I thought that I needed a break, well, now I'm back, you can give me my good ol critiques. No flames, I still have no songs, and Kougar, dj, and Mouse are all my characters. This is a long long chapter and it's somewhat revealing, it's majorly about the roommates and where they come from. I swear, I'll finish this Shin-Ra Academy thing real soon okies?! Sorry I forgot to say thanks to Lord Cirenmas and Yuna8 Thanks for your input too! No songs still! Sorry!!   
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/

/

/

Lucrecia leaned back in her chair and stretched. Vincent paused. He looked down at his watch. 12:01 am. Had they been talking that long?  
  
Lucrecia smiled. "Hey you, don't do that!"  
  
She reached for his hand and placed her hand in his. Her hands were so warm. Vincent felt the flame from within grow hot. He wet his lips and stared at her beautiful face. What he wouldn't give to just hold her and be with her, even if it was for one night.  
  
Lucrecia continued. "This is our night, so- time is not an issue here."  
  
Vincent rubbed her hand with his. "Alright." He said it almost like a whisper.  
  
Lucrecia looked deeply into his eyes. "Vincent, thank you for sharing your story with me."  
  
Vincent nodded. "Sure."  
  
Lucrecia looked at him a little puzzled. "Vincent, I thought that you said that you didn't have any friends when we first met."  
  
Vincent grinned good naturedly. "Well, technically that's true."  
  
Lucrecia raised a brow.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Vincent cleared his throat. "Well, at the time I didn't have any friends, you see, when we joined up with the TURKS, we didn't think that we would get separated. DJ, Mouse and Kougar, we all thought that we would be assigned the same team. But that wasn't so. Apparently, I did so well in training camp that they wanted me to be one of the President's five main bodyguards."  
  
"Oh, is that so?" Lucrecia took her hands away, placed them on her hips and gave him a cocky smile. "So, you were that good?"  
  
"Yes I was," Vincent said mimicking her smile. "And after that, I never saw any of my old friends. So I wasn't really lying to you when I told you that I didn't have any friends. At the time, it was true, and I had just started my job at Shin-Ra inc as a fledgling TURK."  
  
Lucrecia laughed. "Alright alright, so tell me about training camp, or whatever they call it. What did you do there? I mean was it hard?"  
  
Vincent nodded. "Ohhh yeah, it was grueling. It was just like going to boot camp, or at least what I imagined boot camp to be like. But this was worse. We had to get up every morning around 5:00 am and we went to bed at 11:00 pm. We had daily work out exercise's, regardless of rain or shine. We ate in the morning and in the afternoon. The food was horrible. They taught us how to make bombs, clean our guns and what-not, everyday it was just work, work and more work. We only had three hours to ourselves, one in the morning after breakfast, one in the afternoon and one before we went to bed. Other than that, we didn't get any breaks or vacation time."  
  
He glanced over at Luca to see her reaction. She nodded for him to continue.  
  
"There was a test every week that we had to pass, and it was hard. If you failed the test, you were sent home immediately. A test can last up to about three days. We had stake outs and little jobs we had to pull in order to pass. When you're taking your test, you can easily get killed in the line of duty, so you had to be real careful not to get caught or anything. Every night they tortured and beat us in order to interrogate us. There weren't days when I would look at myself in the mirror and think, god, I can't believe that's me! I had bruises all over me and I was so disheveled, I didn't even recognize myself."  
  
Lucrecia shook her head and patted his hand with concern. "Oh my god! That's so horrible! Vincent, why didn't you just leave?"  
  
Vincent shook his head. "I don't know, I mean, originally I wanted to go there to see what it was like, but then when I got there, I don't know, I guess I wanted to try it out. There were so many times I wanted to quit and go back home back to the old man, but something inside me wouldn't allow that. I had been training for months to get where I was, and I couldn't give it up. I think it was just the challenge of it all. I've never challenged myself this way, and in a way, I kind of enjoyed it."  
  
Lucrecia shook her head. "You're a strange man you know that Mr. Valentine?"  
  
Vincent chuckled at her statement. "Heheh, I know that."  
  
He looked down almost shyly at the empty glass by his arm.  
  
Lucrecia smacked him playfully. "Oh you! Hey, whatever happened to the old man? Did you tell him about being a TURK?"  
  
Vincent sat there quietly. He shifted in his seat uneasy. When he didn't answer her Lucrecia's face softened with concern. She touched the side of his face with her fingers.  
  
"Hey, you alright?"  
  
Vincent blinked. "Yeah, I am... I just-" He shook his head. "It's nothing, I just- I just it's really difficult." He stammered.  
  
Lucrecia grabbed at his hands. "Oh, I'm sorry Vincent, I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry for being so nosy."  
  
Vincent squeezed her hands affectionately. "No, no it's not that at all Luca it's just that, well- I haven't spoken to the old man in years. I mean, I wrote to him after I graduated. Mouse had invited me to stay with him and his mother for a few months, and I wrote to the old man telling him about my plans.... about Shin-Ra. The old man wrote back to me. I knew that he would be angry with me, but I never thought that he would disown me..."  
  
Lucrecia gasped. "Disown you? How- I mean why would he do that? Just because you joined the TURKS?"  
  
Vincent nodded. "Yeah, the old man, he's very philosophical, he's a true artist. Artist's are well known for their passion in what they believe. The old man hated Shin-Ra, he was so hurt when I told him about the TURKS, he told me that if I joined with them, that he didn't want to see me ever again."  
  
Vincent sighed. The look in Lucrecia's eyes, it was a look of anger.  
  
"I can't believe that, how could he be so cruel to you? He raised you like his own flesh and blood!"  
  
Vincent nodded. "That's why he did what he did, I was his son, maybe not his real son, but he had raised my as his own, the only reason why he told me that was because he loved me, and I know that he didn't want to see me as a...." Vincent trailed off.  
  
Lucrecia stared at him. There was a long pause. She looked down at the table. It was very awkward. Should she change the subject? Lucrecia rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.  
  
"Well, I heard that they're throwing a party at the Shin-Ra mansion sometime next week. The place will be heavily guarded and I know that most of the TURKS are going to be there, do you think that your friends will come?"  
  
Vincent shrugged. "Maybe, I hope so, it would be nice to see them again."  
  
He smiled sadly.  
  
Lucrecia bowed her head. "I hope so, I don't like seeing you alone, or sad. It really hurts me to see you like that-"  
  
Vincent softly touched under her chin with his finger and tilted her head so that her eyes met with his. Their faces were inches away. Lucrecia inhaled sharply.  
  
"Luca, I don't ever want you to feel bad, not for me, not for anyone! Promise me that."  
  
Lucrecia couldn't speak. She was entranced by his blue blue eyes, so she nodded instead. After a few moments, she thought that he was going to kiss her. She waited with bated breath.  
  
He was staring at her mouth. It looked so kissable. He wanted to just take a quick peck. Would she mind?  
  
At that moment Lucrecia shuddered her eyes closed and her lips parted. If he kissed her now, she would let him. This man, this boy, he made her feel like this. Her heart pounded against her chest, it was so loud, she thought that Vincent could hear it. What was he waiting for?  
  
What are you waiting for Valentine? A voice piped up in the back of his head. The woman he loved was sitting there across from him waiting to be kissed, and he? Was he scared? Vincent's heart throbbed loudly inside his ribcage. There was a rushing sound in his ears. He held his breath. It seemed as if time stopped for them and them only. Was this what it's like to fall in love? The voice in his head re-surfaced, it laughed manically and sinister like. If you truly loved her Valentine, you should let her go- . She's an innocent. She doesn't know who you truly are and what you've done to get you where you are. How many people have you destroyed in the name one pride and greed? Vincent's heart sunk.  
  
Lucrecia. The reason why I haven't told you anything about me is because, I know, that once you heard the horrors I've done, I know that you can never love me. I can't let you love me. My life, it's not meant to be with someone like you. Even if we do fall in love, and we are together, someone would come for him one day. They would take him or hurt her, and he couldn't allow that to happen, not to his love, not to Lucrecia. She deserves to be with someone like herself.  
  
An innocent.  
  
Not him.  
  
With those thoughts in mind, Vincent reluctantly withdrew from her. Lucrecia's eyes opened she had a surprised look on her pretty face. It was quickly replaced by an annoyed look.  
  
Lucrecia fanned herself. "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" She said breathlessly.  
  
Vincent shook his head in agreement. "I think it's a little warm in here."  
  
Lucrecia, I love you so much, that I'm not going to let you get involved with someone like me. Vincent cleared his throat. "Well, it's getting late, I think that we should go soon, otherwise Hojo and Ghast will start to worry about you."  
  
Lucrecia frowned with disappointment. She sighed. "Alright Vincent, let's go."  
  
They got up from their seat and walked over to the coat rack. Vincent helped Lucrecia into her coat. She smiled at him and thanked him. As they headed outside, they stopped to say goodbye to Bart and Emily.  
  
"You guys have a good one!" Bart waved them off.  
  
Emily walked over to the spot where Vincent and Lucrecia were. She picked up the glasses and waved them at her husband.  
  
"You know Bart, I don't care what you say, I want to have children, you know, sometime soon, before I grow old!!"  
  
Bart shook his head as he wiped his counter. "I don't know about that Emily, we're still too young to have children, an besides, children an I don't get along that well, you think I'm going to be a good father?"  
  
Emily laughed at her husbands remarks. "Oh Bart, I don't care, I just want a child, Ralph and Jenna Strife are trying to have children!"  
  
Bartholomew Lockheart shook his finger at his wife playfully. "Well, that's the Strife's for you, but that ain't us! You know Em, if the Strife's jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?"  
  
Emily walked over to her husband and playfully slapped him. "Whatever! What about a girl? We can call her.... Mary, or Elizabeth?"  
  
Bart snorted. "Heh, why don't we give her a fancy name, like- Tifa or something-"  
  
Emily gave Bart a ridiculous look. "Tifa? That's a strange one. I never heard of any names like that, are you trying to get our child beat up?"  
  
Ralph chuckeled, "Well, if ya don't like that one, you probably don't wanna know about my list of boy names..."  
  
Emily clasped her hands together. "So you do want children!!" She hopped over the counter and threw her arms around her husbands neck. "Oh Bart I-"  
  
Bart gave a good hearted laugh, and patted her behind. "Emily, my glasses! Watch out with the glasses!"

-End-


	23. Plans for Tomorrow

These aren't mine, I don't know why I have to repeat myself, but I really don't wanna be sued! I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but what the hell I thought that I needed a break, well, now I'm back, you can give me my good ol critiques. No flames, I still have no songs, and Kougar, dj, and Mouse are all my characters. This is a long long chapter and it's somewhat revealing, it's majorly about the roommates and where they come from. I swear, I'll finish this Shin-Ra Academy thing real soon okies?! Sorry I forgot to say thanks to Lord Cirenmas and Yuna8 Thanks for your input too!  
  
Red Death's Love  
  
-LMG-

/

/

/  
Vincent woke up with a start. He looked around at his surroundings. He was in his room laying on the bed. He slowly sat up.  
  
"Aeris?"  
  
He called out her name groggily. He wiped his eyes. It was getting dark outside. It looked to be around 5:00pm or 6:00pm. What time was it? Realization crept into his head when he remembered Aeris was gone.  
  
She had her own room now.  
  
Vincent shook his head as if to wake himself from slumber. He remembered the conversation they had this morning after she showed him her room. He remembered telling her about her father, Lucrecia and Hojo.  
  
Aeris had been quiet and observant as she listened to him speak about the past. After that he went to town for supplies. He got back a few hours later and decided to take a nap. That's when he had the dreams.  
  
Lucrecia and the guys.  
  
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Vincent fell back into the mattress. Aeris. It seemed that they were both stuck in the past and couldn't move on with their lives. Maybe that's why she came back?  
  
Maybe she's here to help me with my past as well as hers? Vincent shrugged.  
  
No matter. He was getting tired of this game. The Cetra sent her back, but they didn't tell her anything about her mission, only that Vincent himself would know what to do. He shook his head. Well, sorry to disappoint you ancients, but I don't have a clue as to what to do.  
  
He did know one thing, he was going to have to pay Nanaki another visit. He would have to make sure not to say anything about Aeris, less something catastrophic should happen. Vincent knew that the only people that studied about the ancients were the red people of Cosmo Canyon and the Shin-Ra of Midgar.  
  
There was no way he'd go to Shin-Ra to ask their advice on the Cetra.  
  
Even if Reeve was running the show now, it was too risky. Trust is something that didn't come naturally for Vincent.  
  
It seemed like Cosmo Canyon was the place to go. Vincent nodded to himself.  
  
Fine, tomorrow I'll go to see Nanaki. I'll leave Aeris here. I don't think anyone knows that she's back. She should be safe here by herself.  
  
With a plan slowly coming to mind, Vincent got out of bed. He went to the shower. He turned the water on and got undressed. As he did so, he noticed his lean muscular body in the mirror.  
  
He looked at his face and his eyes. They were so red. The yellow lighting in the bathroom made him look sinister. His skin had a yellowish tint to it. I look like a monster.  
  
A vampire.  
  
Vincent snorted. Heh, I guess the kids at Shin-Ra Academy knew me best when they called me a vampire.  
  
He ripped his gaze away and stepped into the warm water cascading from the shower head. He stood there eyes closed, his hands were pressed against the walls. The water ran over his face and down south of his body. He let the warmth seep into his naked body.  
  
It's so hot. His jet black hair stuck onto his shoulders and back as the water surged through the hair follicles.  
  
It felt so good.  
  
Vincent sighed. He just let his mind drift. He thought about Aeris and her whereabouts.  
  
I hope that she's alright.  
  
Vincent knew that Aeris probably found something to keep busy with. She was a resourceful young girl. She was probably with the old man chatting away. Vincent didn't mind as long as she was with someone and she was content. He didn't have to worry about her then.  
  
After he was done, Vincent dried himself off. He went into the next room and started to get dressed. He had his pants on and was getting ready to put on his shirt when he heard a knock at the door.  
  
Vincent's towel fell to the floor and he bent over to pick it up.  
  
"Come in." He said.  
  
The door opened. When Vincent leaned back he saw Aeris at the door.  
  
She was wearing her blue shirt and a white A-line skirt. She had her hair in a pony tail. She had a blue bow in her hair. Her new brown boots made little squeaks as she crossed the threshold of the door into his room.  
  
She stopped when she saw that he was half dressed. There were fresh clean blankets in her arms. She had her eyes glued to his chest. She swallowed and turned her face away embarrassed.  
  
Why was she always doing this? It seemed that she had a knack for bad timing.  
  
"Ah.. I'm sorry Vincent, did I come at a bad time?"  
  
Vincent threw his towel on the bed and quickly put on a black T-shirt.  
  
"It's alright Aeris. I'm dressed." He told her as he meshed his wet locks back.  
  
Aeris nervously turned her head back. The shirt was well-fitted. It did very little to hide his muscular build. Well at least he has his clothes on.  
  
Aeris's face turned red as she unwillingly recalls the memory of her walking into the bathroom on him. He was naked.  
  
Oh god. I don't want to think of that!!  
  
Aeris bit her lip. Well it's a good thing he can't read minds.  
  
Vincent threw her a funny look. Why is she red?  
  
"Aeris? Are you ok?" he asks her with concern.  
  
Aeris nodded. "Uh, yes I am, I-I-I brought you these!"  
  
She threw him the blankets and brought up her hands and touched her face. God was it hot in here?  
  
Vincent caught the blankets. He arched his brows. He gave her a ridiculous look.  
  
I hope she's not coming down with anything. Why is she acting so peculiar? I don't know.  
  
Vincent shook his head and turned away from the girl.  
  
Aeris wanted to hit herself for being such a nuisance. She saw the look Vincent gave her and she couldn't blame him. She was acting like a fool.  
  
If Cloud was here, he'd probably say that I was being childish. But I don't care, I really don't want to have naked visions of Vincent in my head.  
  
Aeris shuddered. It wasn't as if Vincent was ugly or anything. She never really thought of him that way. She was just nervous because she'd never seen a naked man before in her life that's why.  
  
Aeris sighed.  
  
She pushed the thought out of her mind and touched her arm.  
  
"Um Vincent?"  
  
Vincent turned his head towards her. "..."  
  
Aeris toyed with a strand of hair in the front.  
  
"Um, I just wanted to let you know, that I've fully moved into the other room and that I felt bad for living here for free and having you pay for me- ."  
  
Vincent shook his head again. "Aeris how many times do I have to tell you it's alright, I don't mind paying for you-."  
  
She held up her hands and interrupted him. "No Vincent, that's not what I meant at all, I mean it is kinda, but what I mean is that I really want to do things for myself. I want to be able to do something and not feel guilty about it like I owe you."  
  
So- that was it.  
  
Vincent stood there and accepted her honesty with good grace. He could understand where she was coming from. He himself would feel the same way if the roles were reversed. He wasn't mad at her for saying what she did, but it was almost like those words hurt him somehow. He didn't know why he should feel like that. There was a nagging tug at the corners of his heart. He didn't know what it was but he just felt strange.  
  
Vincent nodded. "Alright, I understand Aeris. I appreciate your forthcoming."  
  
Aeris smiled at him. Good. He doesn't mind! "Oh thank you Vincent! I thought that you would be mad at me! But now I know that's not the case."  
  
She turned to leave and stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot."  
  
She turned to face him again. "Marta and Grandpa really need the help, so I thought that I should do something to help them out, and they told me that if I did they would pay me and I would get to stay here for free!" She beamed happily.  
  
Vincent gave her a little smile. It was good to see her in brighter spirits. He was glad that she found better things to occupy her time with. He didn't know what she was going to do tomorrow after he left, but now, it seemed she was going to be very busy.  
  
Aeris spun on her heel. "I'll be around if you need me. But right now I have to go downstairs and make sure that Grandpa isn't sleeping on the job!" She waved and exited the room.  
  
Vincent stared after her shaking his head. Aeris never managed to stop surprising him with her charismatic optimistic attitude. Even after all that's happened to her, she's still willing to look life in the face and accept her destiny.  
  
She's strong and hopeful.  
  
Maybe that's why she's back? I should go and tell her about my plans.  
  
Vincent grabbed the towel and hung it to dry in the bathroom. He headed off towards the lower areas of the house inform Aeris about his trip tomorrow.

-End-


	24. Interlude

Sorry this is an interlude.

I know I haven't been keeping up with the fic, but I just decided to start writing honestly. I'm remaking the fic over again.. It'll basically be the same story, with a few new things here and there. This is going to be a pain I know. I will prolly be posting on a new web-site. (I'm making... it's not up yet ) The site will be dedicated to mostly Vincent and Aeris. I already have some good ol fan-art on there... I just have a whole bunch of projects to do for school, so bear with me, and until then, I'll be posting the newly remade story on ... okies, I guess that's it then. Thanks for reading my fic and reviewing it!

-LittleMatchGirl


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